If You Ever Did Believe
by nannygirl
Summary: The Formans and the group of friends, who grew up in their basement, are living their everyday lives in the new decade of the '80s until something happens that turns everyone's world upside down. Soon it becomes Jackie's mission to help everyone, especially Red, mend broken bonds, get answers, and hopefully find peace again. JH,ED,KB,RK,F?
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing. I do not own That '70s Show or any of its characters. I do not own any TV shows, movies, or any of it's characters that might be mentioned in this story. I do not own any foods, games, songs or other licensed products mentioned in any part of this story. I own nothing._

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hi everyone! How are you? Hope you're having a good day. Well, this is it! This is the start of my brand new Multi-chapter story! This is gonna be a long-ish story so I hope you all are up for the ride :) As many of you know, I've been working on this story for a looonnnggg time and it's good because I've gotten a little bit ahead of writing the chapters and I've been able to do a lot of detailed planning and such. But because I've been working on it so much, spending so much time and putting so much into it, I'm more than a little nervous about sharing it, but really excited too! I really hope that you all enjoy this prologue and that you'll be interested in coming back to read more. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it, really means so much! Please do review if you have a few free moments, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Very Big Thank Yous to so many people who have helped me along the way with this story whether it was giving me writing advice, helping me with titles or just giving me extra encouragement thank you! Thank you to Marla's Lost, MistyMountainHop, TvFanaticDayDreamer, thevanillabeatnik, 107derwent, 1980s-popito, AKA Producer Sam, Aliyamd, debbiejw1961, Eliza Ghost, HydeLuver, Idia054, rObErTpAtTiNsOnIsHoT, SwanseaGurl, TL22, and fellow tumblr users who took the time to like/reblog my sneak peek. Thank you again everyone! And thank you so much to you readers today who are stopping by to read this now, please review if you can. Hope you like it and as always, please, Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Prologue**

She could hear someone calling her name but she didn't feel like answering them. She was enjoying her nap. She was so tired.

"She's totally asleep," another voice concluded then excitedly added, "Let's do stuff to her!"

"Oo I know! Let's put her hand in a bowl of warm water," an accented voice suggested.

"That's amateur work," the voice from before, the voice Jackie recognized as her ex-boyfriend, argued with the other. "We should put whipped cream in her hand and then tickle her nose with a feather. She'll reach up and get whipped cream all over her face!"

"Jackie," the first voice spoke again, it wasn't a deep voice but still rather thick. "You better wake up before these dillholes mess up your make up."

"I'm awake," the dark haired, petite woman informed; however, her current stature could have fooled just about anyone. "I'm just resting my eyes."

"Yeah, and practicing your snoring," scoffed Michael Kelso from across the room—at least he was leaving her alone now.

Donna frowned at the figure of her best friend 'resting her eyes' on the old basement sofa. She was sitting on her knees, her left elbow propped on the back of the couch, and her head laying on top of it—her eyes still 'resting' beneath her sealed eyelids.

"Jackie, are you okay?" she questioned.

Finally, Jackie forced open her eyes and pushed her head back up into its rightful position. As she sat herself up straighter, and into a less comfortable position, she tried to suppress the strong sensation she had to scream, cry, laugh…she didn't know what she wanted to do…except sleep, that is.

"I'm fine," Jackie told her concerned friend, running a hand over the top of her head and through her rich colored tresses.

"Really? Because you fell asleep while I was telling you about my weekend with Eric."

"Oh Donna, I'm sorry," her hand touched Donna's arm in hopes of expressing the sincerity in her apology. "It's not that your story was boring, although since Eric was involved I'm sure it still was. But I'm just really, really tired. I haven't been getting much sleep at night lately."

The worry Donna had towards Jackie diminished just slightly at hearing this, still she did have to wonder why her friend was having such a hard time sleeping these days. Sure, they had all been the similar situation but that had been weeks ago. This couldn't be about that, it had to be about something else.

"Marvin, still giving you trouble?" the redhead took a guess.

"No," the younger of the two shook her head. "I haven't seen much of him lately. I think he left."

Jackie then turned her attention over to where Fez and Kelso were seated playing with the set of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. Usually the mention of Marvin created an uproar from the pair, it was only slightly surprising to get no type of reaction this time. They were too deeply engrossed in playing their game to take in any part of their surroundings.

In just a matter of seconds, the neck of Fez's blue robot stretched up and out causing Kelso's own arms to do the same all the while shouting out a loud victory cry.

Watching Michael gloat and Fez sulk, Jackie's mind remained on Marvin. It felt like it had been such a long time since it was only the two of them in her apartment. She wasn't lying to Donna when she said she hadn't seen him lately. She actually missed him a lot more than she thought she would.

"If it's not Marvin keeping you up, then why're you so tired?"

"I don't know," groaned Jackie as she grabbed one of the beat up throw pillow and hugged it close to her. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do with it more, rest her head on it and sleep for a week or throw it straight at Donna's face to get her to stop bothering her with these all these dumb questions.

Before any further plans of the pillow could be made, a potential possibility struck Donna and she immediately had to find out if it were true.

"Oh my God, Jackie," Donna's words were spoken slowly and already riddled with shock. "Are you pregnant?"

That was a question that promptly tore Fez and Kelso's attentions off the second round of their game and instantly woke Jackie right up. The question was not only like a splash of ice cold water thrown in her face but like she's had a bucket full of the stuff poured over her head.

"No! God, Donna why does everything these days make you think I'm pregnant?"

"I don't know," Donna's eyes gazed down at her unpainted nails, then with a quick eye roll she was looking back up at Jackie. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I just thought since pregnant women get tired easily and you're tired…I made the connection."

"Where did you hear that?" questioned Jackie, she thought that was an odd fact to know offhand.

Again Donna's eyes averted themselves, "I don't know, around."

"Well, I'm not pregnant," Jackie declared, making sure that the message was loud and clear. She didn't want the question or subject being brought up again, especially not now, and not in front of Steven.

Still taking on the persona of Nancy Drew, Donna was determined to solve the mystery of why her friend was so tired. Jackie was one of the most energetic people that Donna knew, seeing her so tired now was almost frightening particularly when one considered everything that had happened not too long ago. Donna needed to find out what was going on, she wanted to help.

"If it's not Marvin and you're not pregnant, why are you tired?"

"Maybe she's sick," suggested Fez cutting Jackie off from responding.

Kelso considered his friend's idea but he had one he thought was even better. "Or Jackie's not tired. Cuz she's not Jackie. She'd Pod-Jackie and she's tired cuz she's running low on alien battery juice."

Hearing Kelso's idea made Donna send him a look that she reserved just for him, after all he was the only one who could come up with such insane ideas. Jackie would have been right alongside her best friend in frowning at the taller man, but she was just so tired. Meanwhile, Fez was actually taking a few moments to consider the chances of Kelso's guess being correct; and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to the foreigner.

"It's nothing, okay?" Jackie declared before any more guess or agreements could be made. "I just haven't been able to get much sleep at my apartment because…"

She cut her statement off, feeling the intense stares of the other three. They looked concerned and even confused and Jackie knew that if she continued with what she was going to say her friends would only feel more concerned and even more confused.

Sometimes she was still having trouble believing it and it was happening to her!

The two of them had decided that she would tell the others what was going on eventually, when the time was right. However, with something like this Jackie wasn't sure if there ever would be a right time; so why not now? Besides, Jackie figured breaking the news to the three friends in this room would be easier, though maybe not by much, than telling the three family members who weren't in the room.

Jackie looked at the three staring back at her, wanting to remember the way they looked at her before they thought she'd gone crazy. She wished he was here to help her but it was too late, she had started it and now there was no turning back.

"Because there's a ghost in my apartment," she explained.

"What?"

"A g-g-g-ghost?" asked a wide-eyed frightened Kelso, in his best Shaggy impersonation.

Answering both questions, Jackie silently nodded her head. Donna sat frowning a frown that was no longer soft with genuine concern, Kelso's proud conceited stance had crumbled into a cowering hunch, and Fez was cautiously looking around the room as if she'd brought her ghost friend with her. These reactions from her friends were not much of a surprise. In fact, if there was anything surprising about them, it would be that they were calmer than Jackie had expected they'd be.

"What makes you think there's a ghost in your apartment?" Donna, always the one looking for the logical reason, was the first to ask.

Donna's tone that her question had been asked in was not lost on Jackie and she did not like it one bit. It sounded like Donna thought she was insane and Jackie Burkhart was not insane!

"I don't think there's a ghost, I know there is," Jackie's words were firm and angry. "I saw him."

"Oo it is a boy ghost! Is he cute?" Fez's fear was suddenly forgotten when he heard the new information about Jackie's new friend.

Hearing his friend's lighthearted take on the ghost helped Kelso forget about how scared he had been and instead joined in on the teasing of his ex-girlfriend.

"Jackie's in love with a ghost, Jackie's in love with a ghost, Jackie's in love with a ghost," the taller man's ribbing came in the form of a sing-song tone that was in his and Fez's opinion, quite catchy.

The foreigner was about to join in on the singalong when a realization dawned on him, "Finally I am not the one with the scariest girlfriend! Oh happy day!"

"I don't know, Fez," Kelso's uncertainty put a small damper on the celebration. "Caroline was pretty scary."

Fez knew how right his friend was and his eyes looked to the ground in a sad manner before he half-heartedly nodded his head in agreement. Sensing that his friend could use some cheering up, Kelso started a new song that Fez was soon happily joining in on with the clapping of his hands.

"Jackie and the ghost sitting in the tree, k-i-s-s-s-s-i-n-g."

"Wait can a ghost still kiss?" questioned a curious Fez.

Kelso looked at his former girlfriend with a smug look painted on his face, "Jackie better hope so."

"I am not in love with a ghost!" the petite brunette argued with great rage, hoping that by doing so the idea would be dropped.

"Why not?"

The disappointed pout she got in response made her roll her eyes, "Because first of all he's a ghost. And secondly it isn't just some random ghost."

Jackie took a long pause, one might have thought that it was done for dramatic effect but the truth was she felt the need to pause to help her prepare herself for the revealing of the secret that she sometimes still found hard to believe. Of course it didn't help that her friends' eyes remained straight on her, their faces no longer looking like they were worried for her health, if anything they were worried about her mental health; and Jackie was sure once she told them more about the ghost they could very well pick up the phone and call the nearest looney bin.

The truth was she wouldn't exactly blame them.

This was going to be the toughest part to share, the toughest part to get them to accept. Jackie took in a deep breath, gathering her courage as she did so, now was as good a time as any.

"It's the ghost of Mr. Forman."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Next chapter should be up in 1 or 2 weeks depending on I think really reader responses, if you all are really excited about the story I might post it sooner than the two weeks :) If not hopefully two weeks will get me past my nervousness of posting this…been a while since I felt so nervous about posting a story lol_

 _Again thank you to everyone who has stopped by to read this first part, I really hope you liked it! Please don't forget to review, even a simple 'good job' could go a long way with me right now lol_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	2. Chapter 1: Mamma Mia

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well and had a nice week! Today I have for you the first chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" up WAY earlier than I had planned lol But I was so incredibly touched by the amazing response that I got from you all on the prologue. I'm so happy and excited to hear that so many of you are excited to read and learn more about this story. I'm excited to share it with you! Still a little nervous but mostly excited! Thank you SOO much for all of the super sweet and very thoughtful reviews that you all have left, for adding the story to your alerts and favorites and the sweet worded PMs too. Thank you! You have no idea how much it means to me. I didn't want to keep you all waiting too long and I really am so thankful for all of the support you've given me so hear is the first chapter of the story. I hope you like it! Quick note and you'll notice it yourself as you read, but the story is going to start off sometime before Jackie starts seeing Red's ghost, so that we can get some of those answers to the questions you all have been wondering about. But don't worry we'll get to the ghost stuff soon! This chapter is more about the background of what's going on with everyone, but there's some important stuff too! Thanks again for stopping by to read, please review if you have a few free moments, I'd really love to hear your thoughts! Next chapter will be up before you know it :D Thanks again for reading, hope you like, please review if you can, hope you like, and as always, Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Mamma Mia**

 _Several Weeks Earlier_

Steven Hyde gradually climbed up the second staircase of the apartment building, irritated that his plan of avoiding this very staircase had been debunked.

It had been the perfect plan, he'd come to the apartment building like Mrs. Forman had asked, this way he wouldn't technically be lying to her if she asked about it later. However, he'd stay on the second floor and never make a move for the next one. He figured he'd stop by the well-known apartment on the second floor, visit with his friend for a while and deliver Mrs. Forman's message and let it travel upstairs via another messenger. Of course, the whole plan was foiled when he knocked on the door of apartment 2C and no one answered.

Now he was left playing messenger again as he continued to make his way to the apartment on the third floor, where Hyde knew he'd find not only the occupant of apartment 2C but also the occupant of that very apartment—Jackie Burkhart.

If it had been anyone else but Kitty Forman who'd asked him to do this, Hyde would have left a long time ago; however, because it was Kitty, Hyde found himself standing in front of the apartment of his ex-girlfriend.

Things between Hyde and Jackie were not as bad as they had been during the end of the '70s when Sam had stepped in and then out of the picture. They were for the most part civil with each other, occasionally there would be a tongue in cheek comment made by one of them but one might not describe them as friends.

At least Hyde didn't.

This was mostly due to the fact that he and Jackie had never really been friends to begin with. For him, Jackie has gone from being the girl he wanted never to be left alone in the basement with, to the girl he couldn't wait to be alone with in that same basement. There was no in between, at least not that Hyde remembered. And now…now things were just different.

He lifted his closed fist up to the shut door but his knocking was cut off by the sound of an ear-piercing scream.

A sudden cold feeling washed over Hyde, that scream had come from inside the apartment.

"Jackie?" he called but received no reply, his voice wasn't very loud to begin with though.

After a louder attempt and a few more hurried knocks on the door, there was still no response and panic began to fill Hyde. He reached for the doorknob but found that, unlike most doors in Point Place, it was locked. Clenching both fists, he began to bang on the door louder and harder, not caring if the other neighbors heard; in fact, he was hoping they would, for extra help.

"Jackie!" his calls were louder and more urgent but were nearly drowned out by his banging on the door.

Just when Hyde was getting ready to begin busting down the door himself, it was pulled open.

"Steven?" asked a confused Jackie.

Hyde was more than a little confused himself when he saw her standing in the doorway looking perfectly fine. Beneath that confusion though, hidden so deep that not even Hyde could acknowledge it, was a sense of relief at the seeing Jackie standing before him.

"Jackie. Are you okay?" he had to ask her.

"I'm fine," she answered though her tone and facial expression showed irritation. "You're the one pulling a Fred Flintstone at my front door,"

She gestured at the door once more then proceeded to step further into her apartment. The way she left the door open for him as she walked away, Hyde saw it as an invitation to come in. One that he took while silently promising himself that he wouldn't stay long.

"I heard a scream," Hyde explained, following her through the apartment towards her kitchen.

Jackie swung herself around, her eyes were harsh and her arms defensively crossed over her chest. "So just because you hear some petrified scream you assume it was me?"

"It was a shrill scream," he replied with a shoulder shrug, "You're the only one I know with a shrill voice."

Jackie stared back at him, squinting her eyes into a glare just for a moment before it transformed into a smile—a wicked smile—and she slightly titled her head to the right.

"Think again," she spoke lightly before pulling open the wooden shutters at the breakfast nook, giving a clear view into the kitchen where the occupant of apartment 2C was found awkwardly standing on one of the wooden kitchen chairs.

"Fez?" Hyde frowned at the sight before heading to the kitchen door,

Once he was in the kitchen, the image of Fez standing on the sturdy chair, still frightened and shaking, remained the same.

"What're you doing?"

"He thinks he saw a mouse," informed Jackie as she too entered the small kitchenette.

"No, I did see a mouse," Fez argued from his higher stance. "I do not think."

Hyde turned to Jackie at hearing the statement and shrugged his shoulder in a 'can't argue with that' way. She smiled back in response but quickly remembered the problem at hand: Fez thinking there was a mouse in her apartment.

"Fez, get down from the chair."

"No, I do not want the mouse to get me."

An amused smirk appeared on Hyde's lips as he watched the interaction and caught on to Jackie's obvious frustration. "So you've got a mouse?"

"There is no mouse," Jackie declared for what felt like the hundredth time. "My apartment is clean and pretty, mice don't live in places that are clean and pretty. They live in shabby dark dirty places. Like the place Steven and his mom used to live." She swiftly turned her head to look back at Hyde, as if remembering just now that he was still in the room. "No offense."

A mere shoulder shrug is what Hyde gave her, not at all offended by what was said. Couldn't be offended by the truth. His place with Edna had been a dump and on more than one occasion he'd seen a few mice. Sometimes even a rat or two. However, he was not about to share this with Jackie but he was considering telling her how a mouse very well could be living in her clean, pretty apartment.

"But I saw one," insisted Fez even more.

Jackie shook her head, "No, you didn't!"

The brunette's raised voice told Hyde that tempers were flaring and he really wasn't in the mood to see a chick fight. Especially when one of them wasn't even a real chick and just acted like one, a lot—like now.

"Jackie, calm down. So you've got a mouse. It's cool," Hyde said his aloofness making Jackie stare harden. "We've always said you were a princess, now we know which one. Cinderella."

Instantly Jackie knew why the decision had suddenly been made that she was Cinderella. Cinderella had mice friends.

The only reason Cinderella had those mice as friends was because she was so lonely and Jackie Burkhart was popular, she was _not_ lonely. She had plenty of friends and not one of them was a mouse, though there were a few rats from high school. Determined not to be appointed with the role of Cinderella, Jackie's pointer finger popped out and straight at Hyde.

"There is no way that I am Cinderella. Her story is about going from rags to riches, I have never been in rags. And I could never be friends with mice or wear a dress that was made by them and their grubby little mouse hands." Her rant continued with full on speed and rage. "And don't even get me started on the glass slipper! If anything I'm Snow White because not only is my hair black as ebony but I am the fairest of the all!"

"Snow White's also the one who lived with seven men," Hyde reminded, wearing a smug smirk.

Realizing her mistake, Jackie's tense shoulders slumped if only for a moment. "Fine. Then I'm Sleeping Beauty. But only when she's wearing the pink dress!" she stated, her index finger back into pointing position.

"You should name him Mickey," Fez mussed aloud, still standing on the seat of Jackie's kitchen chair.

Wearing matching expressions of confusion and puzzlement, Hyde and Jackie looked up at their foreign friend who was currently taller that either one of them.

"Who?"

"The mouse," he said making it sound like it should have been obvious. "You know, M-I-C-K-E…"

"Yeah, we know how to spell Mickey," Hyde broke through Fez's rendition of the theme song to _The Mickey Mouse Club_.

Jackie nodded in agreement, she's didn't appear to like the idea (or the song) any better. "And we're not naming the mouse Mickey because there is no…Ahh!"

The firm argumentative statement Jackie was in the middle of delivering abruptly diminished itself into a frightened scream when she saw something little and gray hurriedly scurrying across her kitchen floor. It came out from under the oven, then hearing Jackie's scream must have scared it causing it to run back under the refrigerator, squeaking away as it did so.

It wasn't only Jackie who had seen this little gray, fast moving furball.

Fez saw it as well but managed to contain his girlish screams this time. He did however try to move up higher on the kitchen chair, so that he was further away from the mouse. It proved to be somewhat of a difficult task though. At first he tried standing on only his left leg, lifting his right one behind him but then realized his left leg was still in danger so he switched. The right leg came down and the left leg went up until Fez recognized that he had the same problem but with the opposite legs. He continued to switch legs up and down several different times, making it looks like he was doing some odd Jitterbug movement.

Hyde had also seen the tiny intruder but the sight of the little guy didn't startle him as much as the sound of Jackie's shriek did. Just as it had earlier, when he thought Fez's cry was Jackie's, the scream filled Hyde with the sudden instinct to protect. This time his arm flew up, in front of Jackie and he stepped forward just a bit in order to create some kind of wall between her and the mouse's path. He knew it wasn't much of a physical barrier but it did ensure that if the creature decided to run towards Jackie it would have to go through Hyde first.

"What was that?" asked the wide-eyed Jackie from behind Steven's arm that her hands were resting on.

Looking over his shoulder, Hyde smirked—but didn't lower his arm. "Think you know what it was."

She cut her eyes at him warningly, "Don't say it."

"Either that or a fuzzy roach," he suggested as he moved his arm down and away from Jackie to avoid any pinches that she looked ready to give.

Jackie's face crumbled with disgust and despair, she had an icky, gross, _dirty_ mouse in her clean, pretty kitchen! "Oh God."

"What about Chester?"

The random question had been voiced by Fez, who had finally stopped his dancing on the wooden chair, but neither of the other two were sure of his reason for it.

"Why?"

Fez shrugged his shoulder and pursed his lips together before admitting, "It sounds nice."

Hyde moved his head up and down, he could get on board of the name Chester; however, Jackie showed no love towards the name Chester or the fact that there really were vermin living in her home. She hated the mere idea that this was happening to her and was still having trouble wrapping her mind around it all. Jackie's obvious distress over the situation was obviously amusing Hyde, maybe more than it should have. He did, however, try to be polite and keep most of his enjoyment to himself.

"So what're you gonna do now?" he asked, his voice sounded intrigued and concerned but then his mischievous smirk broke through. "Go with the name Mickey or Chester? Or my personal favorite, Jerry."

A sharp glare was sent his way but the smirk didn't go away, if anything it possibly grew a smidge more.

"Oo let's name him Jerry," Fez was eager to second the idea, though not as eager to get down from his stance. "Then we can get a cat and name him Tom."

Jackie wasn't sure who she was more upset with, Fez for suggesting the idea or Steven for giving him the idea in the first place! It was bad enough that she had a mouse but now they wanted her to get a cat to get the mouse? Then she'd have to get a dog to get rid of the cat and then a goat to get rid of the dog and a cow to get rid of the goat and…she shook her head from these thoughts. She had been singing song about that fat old lady who was so hungry she ate a fly, one too many times with her goddaughter Betsy Kelso.

Attempting to free her mind of the children's song, Jackie closed her eyes and shook her head. When she reopened her eyes and stopped moving her head she found Steven staring back at her wearing a smug, amused smirk. He thought this was just so funny, getting a big kick out of it, it made her blood boil.

"Did you come here for a reason other than helping make my day more miserable than it already was?" she demanded to know.

The tone Jackie spoke in was not just annoyed, it was bothered and angry. It reminded Hyde of unhappy, bitter memories that he wasn't too fond of recalling. The tone of voice also reminded him that his current relationship, or whatever this interaction was, with Jackie did still need to treated with a certain amount of care or they could end up in that spiteful affiliation that had been tough on everyone.

"Mrs. Forman sent me," Hyde explained, smirk gone and Zen now present and in place. "She wants to make sure you guys are comin' to dinner tonight."

It wasn't unusual for Kitty Forman to send out invites to dinner, she invited one or two people over for dinner several times a week; even if the invitations were turned down, it never stopped her from asking the next week. The decline of the invite was also rarely—surprisingly—not met with tears or guilt. Kitty understood that the kids that once hung out in her basement were not kids anymore, they were busy young adults off living their busy young adult lives. And once a month Kitty planned a big dinner and invited each and every one of the old gang allowing them to bring guests that might be important people in their lives.

The Fun Forman Family Feast was like a mini version of Thanksgiving dinner and you had to show up to it or prepare for the unleashing of all of the tears and guilt Kitty had pent up for the previous invites that had fallen through.

Only on exceptional occasions did any of the friends miss out on this gathering. Each claimed that they made it a point to come to keep Mrs. Forman happy but that wasn't even half of the real reason.

It was good food and good times with good friends, it was good. It was rare that they were able to spend an entire day, or even a few hours, down in the basement together and these dinners helped them be able to do it all again; recalling carefree childhood and high school memories of back when life was easier, slower paced, had more fun and less bills.

For Hyde it was business at _Grooves_ that kept him busy. Sales were booming and allowed him to save up enough money—much to Kitty's dismay—to get his own place. An apartment that was neither too big nor too small, it wasn't in Jackie and Fez's complex but instead was in a building closer to The Forman house. He enjoyed having his own place, there was no parental supervision, more privacy, and a bigger bedroom.

That's not to say that he didn't miss Red and Kitty, but it was sort of hard to miss them when he still saw them so often. As part of the deal he made with Mrs. Forman to get on board of the idea of him living on his own, he promised to come by four times out of the week so that she could make sure he was eating the most important meal of the day. Breakfast wasn't the only time Hyde dropped by to see The Formans, he went over often. After all, he lived close and he liked to check up on them (without letting them know he was checking up on them) since they were both getting on in years.

Michael Kelso was also living a very busy young adult life, perhaps of the busiest ones of the group. He wore lots of different hats in life, that he wore quite proudly. He was a police officer working with The Point Place Police Department. This time around he took the job more seriously, so much so he was actually given a real gun and not just a water pistol. The title that Kelso was most proud of and loved the most was being a father to little four year old Betsy.

Brooke and Betsy had moved back to Point Place when Kelso came back and Brooke got a job working at a library in an elementary school; she thought this would work out nicely when Betsy started attending school in the next few years. Mommy and lookalike daughter lived with Kelso in a small house they rented. Brooke and Kelso had been dating for two years but Kelso was hoping to change that soon and switch himself from boyfriend to fiancé/husband.

Jackie and Fez had ended their relationship as quickly as they had started it. Luckily they'd managed to remain close friends and carry on as if the relationship had never even occurred—aside from Fez's occasional bosting reminders, that is. The two not only lived in the same apartment building but they worked as co-workers at the same salon.

Fez was one of the top hair stylists in town, his specialties including shampooing and listening with a sympathetic ear. Jackie had moved her way up at the salon, starting at sweeping up hair, working the register, shampooing hair, and now she was setting springing curls and pinning elegant updos. She liked her job, it paid well, her best friend worked beside her, and it was a good source for the latest gossip; however, as much as she liked her job, she didn't love it as much as Fez seemed to.

And then there was Donna and Eric.

Donna and Eric were still Donna and Eric, their relationship still going strong since his return from Africa on New Years 1980. They were both living in Madison, in their second year of college over there. Eric was studying to become a teacher while Donna was fulfilling her dream of studying the field of journalism. Because they were the ones who lived out of town, not to mention their busy school schedules, Eric and Donna were also the ones who commonly had to turn down dinner invites and occasionally missed The Fun Forman Family Feast. They tried not to do it too often but when they did their presence was greatly missed.

"Are Donna and Eric coming?" Jackie asked before giving her answer, even though no matter the reply it was unlikely to change her decision.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Apparently they've got a long weekend so they'll be stayin' in town for a couple days."

This news excited Jackie, her face lighting up brightly and her hands coming together in a cheerful clap. "Oh yay! It'll be so good to see Donna again."

"And Forman."

"Yeah, him too," her tone was detached and her hands were no longer held together. "I'll be there."

Not to be forgotten, Fez made himself heard with a loud, "Me too!"

By now Fez was no longer standing on the chair, instead he was sitting in it, however, not in the correct position. Rather than sitting in the seat of the chair where one was supposed to sit, he rested his feet there while sitting his bottom on the top of the chair's back. Jackie watched him hoping he didn't fall back and hurt himself while Hyde looked on half hoping that he would and half hoping he wouldn't, since he didn't have a camera with him to capture the moment.

"You can tell Miss Kitty that Fez will be there with bells on." The foreigner was happy to share this but soon his grin shrunk into a shyer one as he continued. "Real bells. My new sweater that I bought has bells on the sleeves," he demonstrated with the sleeve cuff of the invisible sweater he wore now. "I will jingle jangle all around the house tonight!"

Hyde shook his head just slightly, thinking about the night ahead of him with Fez walking around the house like a cat wearing one too many collars. It was gonna be a lot of 'fun' and he already knew someone who was going to 'enjoy' it even more than he would.

"Bet Red's really gonna love that," Hyde commented and the look Jackie was giving showed she was in agreement.

Fez however, missed the cynicism that his friend's words were spoken in, and only paid attention to the actual words that were said. "Good, because that is my stocking stuffer for him this year."

Christmas was still a long way off but Hyde could already imagine Red's reaction when he unwrapped that Christmas gift.

"Speaking of Red," he started, shifting his focus to Jackie who was guardedly scanning her eyes across the kitchen floor. "You want me to tell him about your little Pied Piper situation over here?"

Jackie's head shot up and she looked at her ex-boyfriend like he was holding out her new pesky rodent of a roommate out in towards her.

"No! No, I…I'll tell him myself," she explained bringing her voice back to its usual tenor. "Steven, you can't tell anyone that I have a mouse living in my apartment. Okay, Steven?"

There were no words said, no movement of his head, nothing but a smirk cracking its way onto Hyde's face. It wasn't any ordinary smirk either, it was one that told he was or would be up to no good very soon. Jackie recognized the smirk right away, she didn't want anyone knowing about her apparent roommate (it was bad enough she knew!) and Steven was just itching to tell someone about her misfortune—there was only one thing she could do.

"Steven, if you so much as breathe a word about any of this I'll tell everyone the nickname you gave when we were dating."

Hearing her threat wiped Hyde's smug grin off his face, reverting into its usual Zen stance.

"No mouse, got it," he agreed and while he sounded aloof and cool, Jackie knew she'd gotten him and had to smile at the fact. "I'm gonna get going. I had a lot more fun here than I thought I would," he told Jackie, his words were the truth but instead of sounding sincere there was a sense of mocking in them.

Not needing to be shown the way out, Hyde exited the kitchen and continued to make his way through the apartment towards the main entrance; all the while ignoring the burning sensation of a pair of brown eyes boring into his back.

Jackie continued to watch the shut door, moments after Hyde had left, she wanted to make sure he didn't sneak his way back in. She hated how entertaining he found her situation. She hated that he had been here when she made her discovery of the situation, even though she couldn't deny that it had been sort of sweet when he tried to protect her. What she really hated though was that she, Jackie B. Burkhart, had a mouse in her apartment.

What was she supposed to do now? Did she call an exterminator? Could she afford one? Did she set traps or just put out some cheese? Would it be easier just to move out and into a brand new, mouse-free apartment? Jackie had a million and one questions and Fez—still perched on the kitchen chair—had one of his own.

"What about Minnie?" he pitched at Jackie then shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe it is a girl mouse."

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 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you all liked this chapter, like I said it was a lot of background stuff but important background stuff and important interactions too. Next chapter we'll get into a bit more of the mystery :)_

 _Thank you again for the amazing support, I really can't thank you all enough! This chapter would not have been posted so soon without you…perhaps not even posted at all. I'm ready for the next chapter when you all are :D_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	3. Chapter 2: Rocket Man

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have for you a new chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" Very sorry about the long wait for this next chapter, didn't realize it was two weeks until recently. I had been waiting for some readers to catch up and working summer school can be hectic. But things are going a little smoother. Thank you SO much for all of the incredible support you all have given this story so far, it really means so much! Your kind words make me so happy and help me continue to work on this story. I've got so many plans for it, hope you all plan to stick around for them :D Thank you for stopping by to read, please review if you can, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for all of the amazing support and wonderful reviews, they really mean a lot to me. And again very sorry for the wait for this new chapter, I'm really hoping to be back at a more weekly maybe biweekly schedule now. Thank you for reading, please review if you can, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

* * *

"My baby!" Kitty Forman exclaimed the moment that she heard the sound of a car door being shut.

In the next instant she dashed off to the kitchen's sliding door with the eagerness of a dog who had been left alone at home all day and had just heard…well, the sound of the car door closing. The glass doors had been covered by the gold colored curtain as an attempt to keep the heat in and the winter cold out, but the material did little to slow down Kitty. Without so much as pulling them aside she found the door's latch and hastily slid the glass open; however, before she took a single step outside, her feet halted themselves and the excited smile diminished with despondency.

"Oh, it's you," she said in disappointment when she saw that it wasn't her son at the door but rather her husband of twenty-eight years.

Red scowled, appearing more irritated than hurt. "Gee thanks."

"Oh honey, I'm sorry." Her tone was apologetic and quickly followed by a chaste kiss on his cheek. She watched him remove his coat, leaving him in his mechanic uniform. "I know you've had a tough day. I just thought you were Eric."

The grim, tired look on Red's face told his wife the day had been even rougher than he thought it was going to be.

At first Kitty had been glad when Red decided against selling his shop to Muffler Masters, if you didn't count his time in the Navy, working at that garage had been his favorite job. Kitty was happy that the job made him happy and that it wasn't one that put his life in danger. These days though, she began to wish he'd cashed in that big check and settled into retirement life or least made a bigger cut back of the number of days he spent at the shop.

It had only been once that Kitty mentioned it and it hadn't gone over very well with Red, so she dropped it. Still, nearly every day when he left for work Kitty found herself wishing he'd decide not to go or come home even earlier—barely feeling any guilt at the thought of keeping him away from something he loved doing, just so he could spend some extra time with her.

She was his wife damn it, and he should love spending time with her more than any dumb cars.

Her hand reached out to rest on his stomach before she gently rubbed her palm against it, following a soothing circular motion. If his tummy wasn't hurting now, she knew that it would be soon.

As Red's frown deepened and his eyes scanned the room to make sure there were no hidden dumbasses in the room, he brushed his wife's hand off of him. He was almost 60 years old he didn't need his wife babying over him. This was one of the rare, very rare, times that he missed having a house full of dumbasses for Kitty to fawn over.

"Kitty, the boy is in Madison," he reminded while he and his paper made their way to his usual spot at the kitchen table. "Miles and miles and miles away from here."

By the end of his statement, Red's voice was happier and a smirk had even managed to make an appearance on his face. And while Kitty was neither amused nor happy about her husband's glee of having their baby boy so far away from her, she chose to ignore it.

"Well not for long," she began to say and all joy seemed to drain from Red's face and built up on hers. "He and Donna are coming home today!"

Kitty had practically sang the second part of her statement but Red had yet to see any joy in this and he frowned up at her.

"Are you telling me the dumbass is skipping class to come home? Doesn't he know skipping in college isn't like skipping class in high school?" Red's rage boiled over as his rant continued. "He doesn't show up for a class, he's still gotta pay for it. He's paying for something he's not even using. It's those damn bongo drums all over again. He's just throwin' money down the crapper!"

His wife clucked her tongue, "No one is flushing anything down anywhere, Mr. Grumpypants. They're coming after class. Then everyone is coming over here for a great big dinner! Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"No," his reply was swift and gruff.

She glared at him, "Red."

"Kitty."

"Red, I told you about this weeks ago…"

"I know, I know," the older man raised his hands, attempting to keep his wife from making this an even bigger deal. Slowly his hands lowered and he looked at her wife with tired eyes. "But Kitty, why? Why does it always have to be at our house?"

Kitty smiled, it had been at least a few weeks since they'd had this discussion, it had given her time to come up with new reasons. "Because our house is their house."

"No Kitty, our house is our house," Red's argument was firm. "We live in this house, we take care of this house, and most importantly we pay for this house. All those dumbasses ever do is loiter around here, make a mess, and eat our food. They're like locusts!"

"Okay, fine, we won't have dinner here," her words made it sound like she was giving in but her tone and body language said differently. "We can just go out to eat at a restaurant. And since it was your genius plan," Kitty used her version of jazz hands to put extra emphasis on genius plan. " _You_ can pay for everyone's meal too."

Slowly Red closed his eyes and released a heavy breath.

Having dinner with the group of dumbasses was bad. Having dinner with them out in public was worse. Having dinner with them out in public and having to pay for their meals had to be the worst thing his wife could have thrown at him. Especially if he would have to pay for three particular members of the group: the foreigner who had to get several desserts (sometimes before dinner), the kettlehead who always helped himself to taste bites of everyone's meals, and the loud one who always insisted on getting the most expensive thing she could find on the menu, whether it was something she liked or not.

"What time'll they be here at?"

"Seven thirty," she promptly informed.

"Seven thirty, huh?" he mulled over the information, finding less fault than he thought. "Guess that's not so bad."

"Well, now you see, Red? I knew you were a big softie. You really do like the idea of having all the kids together, here in our house, don't you?"

"No," his immediate answer dashed any of his wife's hopes of him expressing his fondness for their former misfits. "What I do like is the idea of still having five dumbass-free hours left to spend before they all get here."

Kitty shook her head, "Honestly, Red, what am I going to do with you?"

Despite the fact that the question had clearly been asked in an unhappy, exasperated tone of voice, Red focused on the words themselves and let a playful smirk crawl onto his lips.

"Well," Red shrugged his head to the side just a bit then stood up from his chair and walked over to where Kitty was standing by the stove. He made sure his grin was in full charm mode. "You could help me pass some of that time?"

Hearing the question, Kitty's eyes widened and she turned her head up to look up at her husband. She wondered how he could ask such a question! But the longer she stared at Red, Red and his mischievous smile and that special look in his eye that he gave her and her only, the more she wondered how she could ever turn him down.

One glance down at the recipe covered counter and her response became more hesitant than either one of them expected.

"Well, I was gonna get started on making some party appetizers for the kids. Some cheese puffs, potato skins, my famous artichoke spinach dip…" Kitty nervously rattled off her list, she really felt torn between her two choices. She loved making food for her kids but she also loved her husband and they did have the house to themselves, something that wasn't as rare as it used to be but still fully taken advantage of by the couple. "Oh screw it, I'll put out a plate of chips and dip."

A curse word leaving his wife's lips made Red's eyebrows shift up in surprise as his grin grew wider and he released a chuckle. Kitty soon joined in on his laughter before giving him a knowing look. Then when she trotted out of the kitchen, disappearing behind the swaying door, Red was right behind her.

Mere seconds after the married pair had exited their kitchen—they must not have even made the second step of the staircase—the patio door was slid open by a new visitor. The guest made no announcement about their arrival, or any sounds aside from the light scraping of the door's rollers running against the track. No one would have known someone had come into the house, unless of course, they were an enthusiastic mother who was eagerly awaiting the arrival of her precious baby boy.

Kitty came bursting through the swinging door, holding out in front of her a pair of arms that longed for a hug.

"My baby boy's home from college!" she happily exclaimed until she saw that it wasn't the son that she had been expecting. Her arms lowered and her smile shrunk, "Oh Steven, it's only you."

Behind his shades. Hyde's eyebrows rose upwards. "Huh. Haven't been greeted like that since I lived with Edna."

While Red reentered the room, not looking very happy, Kitty appeared even more unhappy—though more heartbroken and guilty than anything else. She felt so bad for bringing up any unpleasant memories from the poor boy's childhood. Whenever he talked about his life before he moved into their home, Kitty always wished she could go back in time and hug that little Steven Hyde just a little longer; but since she couldn't do that she would settle for the full grown Steven Hyde in front of her.

"Oh Steven, honey, I'm sorry," Kitty hugged him tightly, paying no attention to the way he'd scrunched his face in discomfort—it was all an act anyway. "You know I'm always happy to see you. I just…I just thought you were Eric."

Hyde knew there was no point in fighting the hug, so he didn't, he'd even managed to loosen his surrogate mother's grip enough to allow him to cautiously pat her shoulder. However, he didn't exactly feel good about the comment she'd made.

"Yeah, Mrs. Forman, that's not really making me feel any better," he admitted, after all if he was being confused with Forman…maybe he should start thinking about working out or at least eating more, to keep him from looking scrawny and Forman-like.

Kitty looked up at Steven, giving him an apologetic smile that he showed he accepted by nodding his head, then released him from her hold.

"Thought Forman and Donna weren't comin' in till later."

"That's their plan," confirmed Kitty, "but I think they might decide to come in a little earlier as a surprise."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Hyde asked, holding in a smile. He had a good notion of what had put the idea of an early 'surprise' arrival into Mrs. Forman's head.

She kept her eyes fixated on to recipe cards in spread out in front of her, "I might have mentioned how much I would love it if they decided to surprise us by coming in early." Kitty swiftly looked up as she added, "I promised to act surprised. I've been practicing all day."

The smirk on Hyde's face grew as he heard the famous Kitty Forman laugh. There was no doubt that she was excited to see her Baby Boy home again, he was looking forward to seeing his friend too, but there was one person in the room who didn't appear all too thrilled. Hyde turned his attention to the older man whose excitement was either nonexistent or very well hidden; perhaps by the newspaper he read while sitting back at the table.

"So Red, you excited to see Forman?"

Red didn't even look up from his paper, "Yeah, my foot's shaking with excitement."

"Yeah," Hyde agreed nodding and continuing to smirk as he slid into his usual seat at the table. "I've got a few new burns laid out already."

Amused by this information, Red actually looked up from his reading material and looked over at his adopted son. When Hyde smirked back at him Red's lips pressed into an impressed sort of pout before he nodded his own head. Getting this reaction from his best friend's father, that practically said he had permission to burn his son, Hyde let out a crackle of a laugh that Red soon jumped in on.

Usually the sound of laughter in her kitchen was something Kitty enjoyed hearing but not when it was at the expense of her baby boy, especially when he wasn't even there to defend himself.

Both Hyde and Red were too busy laughing it up that they didn't notice Kitty had stepped away from her recipes at the counter and was now standing beside them at the table with her hands on her hips and an unhappy frown indented on her forehead.

"No, no, no," she said shaking her head, her voice finally getting the men's chuckles to settle and fade out. "There will be no foots in rear ends, burning, or calling anyone 'dumbass' while my baby boy is back home."

"Come on, Kitty, then what's the point of the boy being here?" grimaced Red, earning him a glare sharper than any steak knife he'd ever seen.

"I'm with Red, Mrs. Forman," Hyde started to say but when Kitty's piercing look got shifted onto him, he knew he had to give a better explanation. "Us not sayin' any of those things might make Forman think he's not really home."

With this argument now brought to Kitty's attention she realized it did hold a truth to it. Her harsh stare softened, "That's true, isn't it?" she tittered nervously. "Well I guess a few couldn't hurt. But it's only to make my baby feel more at home. And I don't want it happening while everyone is here. Which reminds me, Steven did you talk to Jackie?"

"Yeah, she and Fez are both in," he replied.

"Oh yay!" the mother hen clapped happily as she gave an equally gleeful little giggle. "Now not only will my baby boy be coming home but so will all the rest of my babies. Donna's coming with Eric, Michael said he was bringing Betsy and Brooke along with him and now Fez and Jackie. Oh, everyone is going to be together again…"

As he heard her words start to drift off, Hyde looked up at Kitty and noticed the tears that were starting to form in his adopted mother's eyes. He knew it had been a while since they had all been together but he really didn't think it had been long enough to make Mrs. Forman cry. He figured it must have been some kind of mother or lady problem and decided to pay it no more attention.

Kitty placed her hand on Hyde's shoulder making him look up and give her a small smile that was met with her tearful one. "This is just…just such a happy occasion."

"Laurie's not coming home," Red felt the need to point out.

Pretending like she didn't hear her husband's words or the gruff tone he'd spoken them in, Kitty tried her best to contain her smile, "Such a happy occasion."

Hyde chuckled at Kitty's comment and the playful squeeze she gave his shoulder as she made her way back to the kitchen island. For a woman who was against them, Kitty Forman was pretty good at the subtle Mom-burns. Meanwhile, Red didn't find the response to their absent daughter all that funny and he rolled his eyes before reopening his newspaper and returning to his reading.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _I know this chapter was a little shorter but it was cut in half so the next chapter will pick up right after this one. Also I know these chapters may seem sort of filler like but they are important, they're setting things up and you may want to pay close attention to *some* of the details….also most of you all know how much I love Red and Kitty, couldn't write a story that turns Red into a ghost before giving them some sweet moments together!_

 _Be sure to keep an eye out for the next chapter! It might be posted sooner since it's a split chapter, might wait a just a little bit longer. Nothing like this last wait, so very sorry about that again!_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	4. Chapter 3: Young Americans

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well and having a good week! Today I have for you a new chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" a little warly since it's midweek and about 2 in the morning as I post this. Been awhile since I made a update at this time of night lol. Thank you SO much for all of the incredible support, it really means so much! I know you all are excited to get to the bigger parts of the story and we're getting there, I promise! For now though just keep reading these building chapters and maybe keep your eyes open for a few clues dropped here and there. This chapter does pick up right from the last one too. Tanks for stopping by to read, please do review if you have the time, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thank you again for all of the amazing support, your reviews not only brighten my day but really make me feel like I'm doing a good job writing this story that I've been working on for so long. Thank you so very much! Thanks for stopping by to read, please review if you can, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

* * *

The kitchen fell into a relaxed moment of silence that led Hyde to think back to his encounter in Jackie's kitchen with Jackie and Fez and Jackie's new little furry roommate. He knew he had agreed not to say anything about the creature to Red and if he did there'd be a serious consequence to pay.

However, he also knew that if he didn't say anything, Jackie might have her own consequence to pay. He'd be willing to bet that she wouldn't tell anyone about her rodent problem in fear of people thinking she was living in the kind of messy environment that mice were typically found in. Really, Hyde would be doing her a favor by telling Red about 'Mickey.' And if Jackie saw things otherwise, he could just blame Fez for blabbing.

"Hey Red, guess what I saw when I was over with Fez and Jackie at her apartment," He said, hoping his bait would hook him.

It seemed to do the trick, but just barely.

"If it has something to do with the foreigner in another dress, I don't wanna hear about it," Red replied, turning his attention back to his paper midway through his statement.

Hyde shook his head, "A mouse."

Now, he had the older man's attention. Red lowered the paper into a crumbled mess and pointed his chin upwards as he suspiciously eyed Hyde, waiting for him to elaborate with more details on the situation.

Red's attention wasn't the only one that Hyde's words had caught. Kitty heard the news as well but had a much different reaction from her husbands.

"A mouse?!" she repeated, jumping almost a good few inches from her stove before her wide eyes darted to the ground.

"Relax, Kitty, it's at Jackie's. For once something's not over at our house," Red calmly commented to his already panicked wife then went back to talking business with the young man sitting at the table with him. "Was it a mouse or mice?"

There was shrug, "Just saw the one."

"In the kitchen?" Red questioned, receiving a single nod in response. For a few moments he pondered over the information before he spoke again. "What's she planning on doing about it?"

"Don't know. Got some of my own ideas of what she could do with it," Hyde admitted, a mischievous smirk pulling up the right corner of his mouth. "Like sneaking it into Fez's place while he's out."

Red grimaced at his adopted son's comment. "Jeeze, don't tell me Haji's afraid of the damn thing. You'd think they were what he ate for breakfast in whatever foreign Fantasy Island place he came from."

"Screamed like a girl. Or Forman," recalled a grinning Hyde.

"Look, tell Jackie I'll stop by tomorrow to check it out."

Kitty's ears perked up the moment she heard her husband's directions and she hurried back over to the table.

"Oh no, Red, you can't," she began to say, hoping her tone of voice didn't sound too suspicious. "You can't go tomorrow."

"Why not?" he asked brashly; since when was Kitty against the idea of him helping out one of the dumbasses?

"Because," Kitty started to say but as she looked over at Steven, she found herself not being able to voice the real words she wanted to say. "Because tomorrow we have that _appointment_."

Not missing the way the word 'appointment' was said, Hyde inclined up an eyebrow. He watched his adopted parents carefully. Red's harsh scowl had softened when he heard the reminder and when Kitty caught Hyde staring at her she pressed on a cheery, but not exactly genuine, smile. From the looks of it, it sounded like either this appointment wasn't really an appointment or it was a very 'special' appointment.

Hyde wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to know more about it or not.

"Oh right," Red spoke, he didn't appear to be looking forward to this 'appointment.' He frowned slightly and tapped his linked thumb and index finger on the tabletop as he tried to figure out an alternative to his plan. "Make it Sunday then. Tell her I'll be there Sunday."

"Yeah, Red, man, I don't think I can do that," Hyde shook his head, starting to slouch down in his chair.

Red's scowl deepened, "Why not?"

"Not really my place," he replied, pairing it with a shrug of his shoulders. "'Sides, you're seein' her tonight. Can't you tell her then yourself?"

"I could," nodded Red, he wasn't an unreasonable man. "But based on your reaction of not wanting to, I think this way'll be more fun. For me that is."

Seeing Red's grinning face aggravated Hyde even more. Hyde did not like being told what to do by anyone. Of course, he made the occasional expectation when it came to his parental figures but even then there was a limit. He didn't want advice on his love life, on things he considered over and done with, or on things that he did not want to talk about. Right now the topic of going back to talk to Jackie was falling under all three of those categories.

"Red," his voice was strong and Hyde could only hope it would make the older man realize how serious he was about his words, "I can't go back there."

The tone used had definitely caught Red's attention, he looked almost taken aback with being spoken to in that tone of voice—usually it was one that _he_ spoke in when he needed to get a point across.

"Oh don't be silly, of course you can," Kitty chided with a smile, she'd clearly ignored or not heard Hyde's tone. "I'll even make some cookies for you to take with you, that way after you give Jackie Red's message you two can talk and maybe reconnect and…"

Hyde held in a sigh but could do little to contain the grimace that formed on his face.

"Mrs. Forman, I can go back there but I won't," his forearms rested heavily on the table top, making his back slouch which in turn made it easier for him to avoid contact with Mrs. Forman. One look at her heartbroken expression and he'd be back in the Camino driving back to the apartment building. Hyde shook his head, "It's better for everyone this way. I already went over there once today and if you want me and Jackie to show up tonight, it's better if I stay here."

He could only hope that his excuse didn't sound as lame as he heard it. There was some truth to it. While it wasn't as if Hyde and Jackie had an agreement to see each other no more than twice a day, they'd come to realize that they couldn't spend too much time around each other. Their relationship was better than it was on its darker days but it was nowhere close to where it'd been on its happiest days. Hyde was convinced they'd never be like that again, he suspected Jackie's feelings were similar, the trouble was convincing this to their den mother.

"Okay fine, don't listen to me!" Kitty threw her hands up in defeat. "I'm just a woman who wants to see you happy again."

Happy? A scowl furrowed on Hyde's brow and he turned so that his adopted mother could see it. "Who said I was happy when I was with Jackie?"

"Everybody!" her hands went in the air again, this time a little happier, before she began to check off the list with her fingers of her right hand. "Me and Red. All you kids. Bob. All the other nurses down at the hospital."

"Earl," added Red, surprising Hyde.

Kitty nodded her head at her husband's addition then remember one of her own. "Oh! That blonde checkout girl at PriceMart."

Hyde couldn't listen to this anymore. "Look I wasn't happy. I was just less…" he stopped himself from making his usual remark when someone tried to tell him how happy he'd been with Jackie. He didn't feel right using that kind of language around The Formans…well Mrs. Forman. "angry."

Red shook his head at hearing Steven's response but said nothing and just carried on with his reading, letting the conversation continue between the other two in the room.

"Steven, that's your version of being happy," Mrs. Forman tried to reason,

"Whatever."

Instantly Kitty recognized the tone of voice and what it meant. It was just like when Laurie was little, she'd had a distinctive little whine that she used just before she threw herself into a tantrum. Only this was much worse and much more serious than a two year old's tantrum of not being allowed to have ice cream for dinner. Luckily in both these cases Kitty had her partner by her side; she quickly turned to him for help.

"Red, do something. He's shutting down and bottling his feelings up," She looked worried and desperate for help. "That's not healthy. It's what causes cancer."

The balding man's eyes remained on the printed material he held in front of him. "Kitty, I'm not doing anything. Keeping his feelings bottled up is good for the boy," he looked up, just missing the eye roll from his wife. "Heck, it's the only proof we have that we've raised one normal son."

As if there'd been some sort of unseen cue, the patio door was practically thrown open causing the rollers beneath the door to make a harsh sound as the sliding door slid towards the fixed one on the right. The noise grabbed everyone's attention and they all turned their heads to find two familiar faces walking through the doorway. The pair each wore a smile but one of them seemed especially happy to be there.

"Mommy, I'm home!" A grinning Eric announced, holding his arms wide open, ready for one of his mom's famous hugs.

Kitty's eyes lit up with joy, "My baby!"

She seemed to have completely forgotten her discussion with her second son now that her baby boy was home—and for that Hyde was very grateful, he'd have to thank Forman later. Kitty threw her arms around her son's frame which was not as lanky and bony as it had been prior to his trip to Africa. He looked more mature and grown up every time that Kitty saw him but to her, he would always be her precious baby boy.

"Oh sweetie," she hugged Eric even tighter; if she could she would hug him for the entire time he was there. "Oh, I missed you!"

Eric smiled as he too continued to hug his mom. He'd missed her hugs, he'd missed her cooking, he'd missed her. "I missed you too."

Hearing that her baby boy had missed her too was just the thing Kitty needed to hear to brighten up her day. Her grip on him tightened and she gave a little laugh when she felt him do the same. It was at that same moment though that she realized he hadn't come home alone.

Donna stood a few feet away from where the mother son reunion was taking place, she smiled softly as she watched on but Kitty could tell that she must have been feeling a little left on.

"Oh Donna, you too!" Kitty greeted after she managed to bring herself to pull out of her son's arms "It is so good to see you, honey."

The trifling smile Donna wore turned into a more genuine one when she got her turn at receiving a warm Kitty Forman hug.

"Thanks Mrs. Forman, you…"

"You and my baby boy!" Kitty abruptly let go of Donna and turned back to hug her son, who was eager to hug her back.

Poor Donna was still trying to comprehend what had just happened as she finished her thought, "look great too."

Neither mother nor son heard Donna's words, their hug also caused them to miss the frown that had begun to indent itself deeper onto her forehead.

Kitty swayed Eric left and right while hugging him even tighter. "Oh my little snicklefritz!"

"Mommy!"

"See," Red stood up and shook his pointer finger in the direction of the hug. "That's not normal."

Unlike Donna's comment that had gone unheard, Red's statement was heard loud and clear. It earned him a small nod from Donna and a light laugh from Hyde but his wife wasn't as amused. She watched him make his way to the coffee and pour himself a cup, her stare telling him how didn't appreciate him mocking the loving relationship she had with their son as well as how she really did not appreciate him bringing an end to their embrace—Eric had been away at school for _months_ , she wasn't done hugging him! Eric, meanwhile, didn't look very upset to bothered by what was said by his father. In fact, he was smiling…a little too happily.

"Oh I think someone's getting jealous," Eric teased like he was speaking to a small child. "Dad, do you want a hug too?"

Red glared the open arms his son was walking towards him with, "No!"

The arms dropped to Eric's sides. He really hadn't been expected his dad to pull him into a bear hug but he did want to let him know that he'd been missed. So instead of a big hug, Eric tried something that was more up Red's alley.

He stuck his right hand out in the space between him and his father, offering a kind handshake instead and Red took it—a little quicker than Eric expected him too.

Maybe he did miss him, Eric thought with a smile. "It's good to see you, Dad."

"Yeah, you too, son. You…" Red looked around the room in search of something that could change the subject. He spotted one parked in the driveway. "You drove the Vista Cruiser here. How's she doing?"

"The Vista Cruiser's doing great, Dad," Eric's grin had yet to flatten as he nodded his head. He had a good hunch his dad was not just talking about the car. "She's got three A's and only one B right now. And she missed you."

The older man's eyes avoided his son's once again, this time averting downwards at his coffee. "Yeah, well…" his head rose. "The gutters missed you too. So make sure you stop by to see and clean them while you're here."

That said Red took his coffee and headed back over to his seat at the table. Eric looked over at Donna, nodding his head, silently telling her _I should've know better_ and she smiled back at him telling him, _Yeah you should've._

"So Forman, how's college life?"

Eric dropped into his usual seat at the table—he'd missed this seat too! "Um okay, remember that one week of high school every year that was full of tests, stress, anxiety, and nightmares of your body parts falling off?"

Hyde smirked, "Nope."

Of course Hyde didn't know what Eric was talking about. It wasn't until he moved in with the Forman Family that Hyde had started to really put any effort into doing well in school. And even then he never stressed out or panicked, he was always cool, aloof, Zen. Eric often found himself a tad envious of his friend's easygoing attitude towards school, if not slightly annoyed.

"Well for those of us who you know, went to class every day," Eric's teasing only made Hyde smirk—he had no regrets. "We remember. And college is pretty much just like that only about ten times worse and oh yeah, _every_ day."

Donna lightly shoved her boyfriend's shoulder before taking a seat beside him. "Eric, stop being so dramatic. He actually really loves college. Tell them the good news," she encouraged with an eager grin.

The comment caught everyone's attention, most especially Kitty, who now wore a grin even larger than Donna's. She quickly stepped away from the stovetop and headed over to the table as soon as the word 'good news' entered her Mom-Radar.

"Good news? Oh I want to hear it!" she was practically jumping in place. "I love good news. You know what they say, no news is good news and good news is even better news!" A famous Kitty Forman giggle was then heard.

Smiling, Eric looked up his mother. He could tell that while her laugh was mostly filled with excitement there was a hint of nervousness to it.

"You gonna tell us what's goin' on, Forman?"

"Right," the college student nodded then sat himself up a little straighter, a larger smile forming on his lips as he got ready to reveal his big news. "Starting next week, they're gonna start putting Twinkies in all the vending machines at school!"

Eric beamed brightly at his audience but his grin had only gotten odd looks in return. Donna was the only expectation and even she had given an exasperated roll of her eyes. Red was looking over his paper at his son like the boy had grown a second head and Hyde arched a suspicious eyebrow. He was sure that wasn't the 'good news' his best friend was supposed to share. Kitty wasn't sure how to react, she didn't know what to do, so she did the only thing she could do.

A nervous bout of laughter filled the air. "Well yay!" Kitty cheered, waving her hands as happily as she could. "I know how much my baby boy loves his Twinkies."

"Not that good news, you dillhole. The _other_ good news," Donna made sure her tone told Eric that if he didn't tell them, she would.

Donna's message was read clearly making Eric nod his head up and down. He wanted to be the one to break the news to them. It was his news and his family.

"Okay, yeah," he began then cleared his throat just a tad as he looked down for a moment. The news really was good news, there was a reason that Donna was pushing him to share it; still Eric couldn't help feeling a little nervous about telling the information to his family. He took in a deep breath, "Well, at the end of this mid-semester in my Linear Algebra class of like a hundred students, I have the second highest grade."

By the time Eric had finished a humble but still excited smile could be seen on his face. That same smile stretched out a little wider when a burst of celebratory cheers filled the kitchen. Most of the celebration had come from his mother but Eric didn't mind, it's just what he had been expecting.

"Oh, oh, oh! Even more yays!" Kitty squealed as clapped her hands some before throwing her arms around her son. She hugged him tightly, "Oh honey, that is so wonderful!"

When Kitty finally let go, Hyde slapped his hand on the star student's shoulder. "Congrats, man. Even a nerd in college."

"Thanks, Hyde," Eric nodded and the two young men shared a smile. Despite the ribbing, it was all done in good-natured fun and Eric knew his best friend was happy for him.

As the merriment of the shared good news began to die down it was noted that there was one person in the room who hadn't participated much at all. That same person was sitting behind his paper as if he were unaware of the others in the room and hadn't heard a word of the big announcement.

Red's lack of reaction had gotten its own set of reactions. Eric's smile had just barely flattened; like he'd been expecting his mom to make a big deal he had been expecting the opposite with his father. Donna frowned at the older man, tempted to say something but she knew better. At first Hyde has looked at Red too but soon turned his eyes to look at Kitty, wondering if she would say anything.

Kitty stood in the middle of the room, wringing her hands as an attempt to keep in her nervous laugh that was itching to come out and be part of this awkward moment. But Kitty didn't want this to be an awkward moment, she wanted it to be a happy one. It should have been a happy one! And right now it was her husband that was keeping it from becoming that.

"Red, don't you have something you'd like to say," she made sure it didn't sound like her words had been a suggestion.

"Huh?" Red's brows furrowed at hearing his wife to speak to him in the same tone she'd use when the kids were little and she wanted one of them to apologize to the other. When he looked up from the newspaper and saw the three sullen looking young faces and the very angry one on his wife's, Red understood what he'd missed out on. "Oh yeah," he roughly cleared his throat, lowered his paper some more, then gave his son a quick once-over. "What score did the kid with highest grade get?"

The question swiped the grin off Eric's face in one quick motion. He was at lost for words.

"I…I…" he looked around at Donna and then Hyde before his eyes landed on Red again. "I don't know."

"Red!" scolded a fuming Kitty.

"What? It's a legitimate question," Red argued, already aware of why Kitty was so upset. "I can't ask him a question?"

Blonde curls became slightly ruffled when Kitty rapidly shook her head. "Not when your son would like to hear you say something else to him."

"Like what?"

"Like, 'good job.' Or _Yay_!" she cheered in a fashion that was more Kitty Forman like and less like Red Forman. "Or even just a nice 'I'm proud of you.'"

Red met Kitty's pleading eyes with agitated scowl—she was making a bigger thing out of this. "Kitty, I'm not saying any of that. I don't need to. The boy knows I'm proud of him," he gazed over at his son. "Don't you Eric?"

"Yeah," nodded Eric until he realized what he was saying and then abruptly stopped nodding his head and instead shook it back and forth. "No. No, I've never even heard you say those words to me before now. And technically right now wasn't even…"

"Well you should," Red interrupted.

He didn't sound angry nor did he sound hurt. Red didn't even sound surprised to hear that Eric believed he'd never been proud of him. He just stared at Eric as he said the words that while still sounding gruff, also sounded much more truthful than Eric had ever imagined.

"Okay, first Dad admits to missing me," Eric recounted once he'd snapped out of his state of shock. "And now he's talking about being proud of me? Mom, is Dad okay?"

"Oh honey, he's fine," Kitty waved a dismissive hand.

Eric's worried eyes became filled with more fright, "Am I okay?"

"Everyone is fine. Now come on," the smiling mother slid into an empty spot at the table and slapped her palms on its surface. "Tell me more about college life. Donna, sweetie, what've you been up to?"

Donna looked around the kitchen table, like her boyfriend, she had a sense that something was off but pressed on a smile for the benefit of Mrs. Forman, who was waiting to hear all about Donna's college life. "I'm doing pretty good. Good grades, good attendance. I got into that journalism program. And as of last week I'm the co-head editor of our campus paper."

"Oh that is wonderful, Donna!" Kitty beamed as if it were her own daughter sharing the good news.

"Man, sounds you two're really taking college by storm." Hyde was happy for his friends. Out of the group of them, Hyde had always thought it would be Donna and Forman that would get out of Point Place and do big things. He was sure that the success at college in Madison was just a stepping stone for the pair.

A lopsided grin made a short appearance on Eric's face. "Yeah, but it's not all good grades and Twinkies, let me tell you, Hyde." His right hand that rested on the table extended his index finger. "It can be really tough too. And that's why I am really looking forward to this holiday weekend with a few days off!"

Just as Eric started settling back into his kitchen chair as if it were a lounger on some sunny California beach, his father's bark brought him back to reality with a quick jolt.

"Jeeze, a holiday weekend. Isn't that just _ducky_?" Red spat out with a grimace engraved on his forehead. "Do you think that I got a holiday weekend in Korea? We didn't even have weekends in Korea."

"Red, honey, college is not like Korea," reminded Kitty with one of her nervous laughs.

Eric nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Dad, Mom's right. I mean college is a lot harder…"

"What did you say?!"

"I…uh, no…it…" Eric stumbled over his words. He wanted to look at the others for help but knew this was his fault and he was on his own; he looked at his father once more before he hung his head. "I'm sorry."

"You're damn right you're sorry," Red muttered as he stood up from his seat and began to head for his garage. One hand held his folded newspaper while the other was on the sliding door's handle and he turned his head to glower once more at his son. "Dumbass."

The room fell silent with the older man's exit until it was broken by the sound of the deep sigh Eric heaved out.

He lifted his head and looked at his mother and childhood friends, "Now it feels like home!"

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _I hope you all liked this chapter, we'll see some more characters soon and some JH interaction in the next chapter! The big dinner is quickly approaching! Next chapter will be up so between a week or two, still trying to find the right scheduling time but didn't want to post last Sunday because of the holiday and didn't want to wait till next Sunday to post this chapter either. :)_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	5. Chapter 4: Hometown Blues

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hi everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have for you a new chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" Sorry for a bit of a wait with this chapter, I was trying to finish up "Party Crashers" which I did so now I have more time for this story, yay! Thank you all for the incredible support and reviews it really means so much! I love reading your comments and thoughts and knowing that you all are so interested in the story means so much, thank you! Thank you so much for stopping by to read, please review if you can, I'd love to hear your thoughts! I hope you all like this chapter, we have a bit more JH interaction that I hope you'll enjoy. It's kinda a short chapter and might seem filler but it could have some important stuff building up! :D Again thank you for all of the wonderful support it means so much! Thank you for reading, please review if you can, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

* * *

"Eric, what're you doing?" asked Donna.

She had just bounded down the wooden basement steps after spending a few more minutes catching Mrs. Forman up on campus life, but it felt more like she had stepped off a time machine and stepped back into a carefree day of the seventies. Her boyfriend was lounging in the ever aging old couch while his best friend sat in the plastic chair that had colored some since the last time she'd seen it. Their focus was divided between watching an old sitcom rerun on the black and white TV set and stuffing their faces with junk food.

"Well I'm sitting on the couch here, watching _Gilligan's Island_ and eating _Cheez Doodles_ ," came Eric reply, running his hand over the sofa cushion and gesturing at both the TV and the bag of cheese puffs when appropriate. "Pretty much enjoying my college-free weekend."

The redhead rolled her eyes and tried not to smile. "Eric, just because we're away from school and have a few extra days off, it doesn't mean we should just sit around and pretend we don't go to college."

"It kinda does. I mean it's what I'm doing and I've had no trouble."

"But you could, _you_ _should_ , be doing something more productive," Donna stated this time sounding very serious. Unlike the high school classes that prepared her for scenarios where someone bought 150 watermelons, her college classes were preparing her for real life. For the career she'd always dreamed of, she didn't want to lose this great opportunity. "Like catching up on school work, studying for upcoming exams, planning ahead…"

"Right, right," Eric nodded, seeming to take the suggestion into consideration until his head stopped moving and he pointed an index finger up in the air. "Or we could sit here and find out if Gilligan and the others finally get off the island this time. Hyde, what do you think we should do?"

Arms crossed over his chest and shaded eyes fixed on the screen. "My vote's for Gilligan."

Eric grinned in agreement, "Mine too," he looked at his girlfriend. "Sorry Donna, look like it's two to one. Gilligan wins."

Donna scoffed a bit and shook her head. However, Eric didn't notice and instead reached into the plastic bag of cheese puffs, pulling out a large handful that he then proceeded to pop into his mouth. Watching him made Donna roll her eyes, she had to look elsewhere and soon had her gaze landing on Steven Hyde.

"What about you?" she gave the curly-haired former rebel a shove meant to be slight but her super strength made it much stronger and Hyde actually slipped in his seat before looking up at her. "Don't you have a job you should be at?"

"Nah, got a pretty cool boss. Let's me take extra time off," answered Hyde as he re-crossed his arms and shifted himself back into the mold of the seat he'd been pushed out of.

A frown formed on Donna's brow, "Aren't you your own boss?"

"Doesn't get much cooler than that." Hyde smirked.

"I can't believe you're both just gonna sit here in front of the TV, stuffing your faces with junk, sitting around like lumps of nothing," Donna's frustration led her to throwing her hands midway in the air before they fell and slapped against her jean covered thighs. "I mean neither one of you sees any problem with this?"

Keeping his eyes on the _Gilligan's Island_ credits that rolled out on the screen, Eric shrugged his shoulders. "Not really.'

"Like we're pickin' up right where we left off," commented Hyde, his smirk still twitching on his lips.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, telling the guys that she was done trying to argue with them—not that either one of them noticed. Donna walked behind the couch and pulled at the zipper of the backpack she'd deposited there earlier. If they wanted to waste their time by wasting away in the old hangout, then fine, but Donna was not going to let them waste her weekend. She was going to use every bit of this weekend that she could to catch up on her studies and get ahead in some of the classes too. She couldn't fall behind; she was not going to let herself miss this opportunity.

Noises of crinkling papers and books stacking against each other caught Eric's attention. When he saw the McDonalds commercial now playing instead of the next episode he craned his neck to see behind the sofa, finding his girlfriend pulling out school materials from her bag and creating a growing pile in her arms.

Eric could tell that something was bothering Donna, something other than him and Hyde doing nothing. There was something that was making his and Hyde's actions so bothersome to Donna. Usually she too saw their trips back home as a chance to relax and get a break from school but lately she just about refused to take any breaks. Even back in Madison she was in full study-mode. She hadn't said anything but Eric figured she was having trouble in one of her classes.

Donna had been extra stressful lately and Eric was sure some time in the basement like old times would do her a lot more good than she thought.

"Look, Donna, just sit down with us for a bit alright?" Eric suggested, watching her stand up with the heap of books resting on her hip. "You'll realize how much you missed sitting around doing nothing."

"No, okay? I'm using this weekend to be productive. I'm catching up on all my class readings and even seeing if I can get ahead a chapter or two," Donna's tone of voice was so firm, her mind was made up, Eric didn't even bother to try to fight it.

"Suit yourself."

Taking her books with her, Donna walked around to the front of the sofa and took a seat. Just because she was planning on using her time productively didn't mean she couldn't sit here too, besides maybe seeing her acting so productive might get Eric and Hyde up off their butts—Donna of course, knew what a long shot that was.

She placed her books on the spool table and was trying to decide which subject she should start with when a familiar sailor like tune filled her ears.

' _Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale…"_

Looking up and seeing the opening credits of the S.S. Minnow, a twinge of a smile appeared on Donna's lips. It had been a pretty long time since she'd seen an episode of the show. And as the theme song ended and the episode began, she realized this was an episode she had somehow never seen. Maybe she could start her productive weekend later…like after this episode. After the week she'd had she deserved a break didn't she?

"Okay, you were right," she admitted now leaning back against the couch. Eric turned his head and saw the redhead smiling a smile that tried to come across as annoyed but was failing. "I did miss this."

The grin on Eric's face grew and he place his left arm over the back of the couch and behind Donna's shoulders making her grin show her genuine happiness.

"Hey, Hyde, don't Bogart those _Cheez Doodles_ ," the redhead called out to her friend who'd only been listening to the scene.

Wordlessly Hyde handed over the snack bag and Donna practically snatched it out of his grasp and into her own. Donna reached into the bag and pulled out an overfilled handful that she wasted little time in fitting into her mouth before digging in for another helping.

Hyde's eyebrow arched at the sight before looking over at Eric, silently asking him, _'You seeing this?'_ All Eric did was lift a hand in a ' _What can you do?'_ sort of way. He'd have to explain to his friend about the stress eating that college life could sometimes cause a person to do.

For several minutes the three friends were able to sit back and enjoy the show. They'd managed to watch Gilligan and the castaways uninterrupted before the first commercial break. Then when the second ad for _Windex_ was halfway through, the basement's side door was pushed open with a not so quiet slam and an even louder guest.

"Donna!"

Smiling at the arrival, Donna sat up and wiped the cheese dust from her fingers. "Hey, Jackie."

"Oh my God, Donna!" Jackie squealed hurrying to sit on the couch with her friend and then pulling her into a big hug. "I missed you!"

Both girls wore grand smiles as they hugged each other tightly. Their friendship was a…unique one…one that they had each missed while Donna had been away at school.

Jackie was still hugging her lumberjack friend when she suddenly felt eyes on her. She looked up and saw a set of well-known hazel eyes staring back at her; her lips dropped from a smile and into a flat line just before she unwrapped her arms from around Donna, making Donna do the same soon after.

Her brow eyes narrowed at the onlooker, "Flying monkey."

"Munchkin," Eric fired back at her.

A smile swiftly broke onto Jackie's face one more. "I missed you too!"

Not giving Eric a chance to stop her, Jackie enveloped him in a friendly embrace. She held him close like she was hugging a dear friend, which to her he was—even if he didn't consider her one. Eric, meanwhile, looked as though he were being hugged by a giant spider. He looked shocked, startled, and unsure of what to do. He was afraid to touch her, afraid _not_ to touch her and so he settled with awkwardly patting her back with the tips of his pinky fingers.

Even after Jackie had released him from her hug, Eric was still having trouble processing what had happened. First, his dad had admitted to not only missing him but being proud of him and now Jackie was hugging him?

He turned to Hyde with wide, fearful eyes. "Seriously, am I dying?"

Hyde just gave a brief light chuckle and the girls ignored the question completely.

"Oh Donna, you look great," Jackie gushed while giving Donna a gentle hand squeeze.

"Jackie," Donna said a bit nervously. "You just saw me a few weeks ago."

"I know," nodded Jackie. "But it's always nice to hear how great you look."

Trying to hold back a smile, Donna rolled her eyes. Now she knew why Jackie was complimenting her. "You look great too, Jackie."

"Thank you!" Jackie sat up a little straighter, smoothing invisible wrinkles on her skirt.

At some point during Donna and Jackie's greeting and exchange of compliments, Hyde had gotten up from his seat and walked over to the deepfreeze in search of a soda. He'd lifted the lid but aside from a few bags of frozen veggies, there wasn't much in the spare freezer. Hyde was somewhat surprised by his findings, he couldn't recall the freezer being that empty before; however, with the gang hanging out down here less and less, he guessed The Formans had opted to keep things up in the kitchen to save from extra trips to the empty basement.

"I'm gonna go up and grab a pop," he told the others already stepping away from the now shut icebox. "Anyone want one?"

"No thanks," replied Donna while her boyfriend shook his head.

Noting the lack of a response from his ex-girlfriend, Hyde looked over at the petite brunette. "Jackie, you want a Diet Rite?"

"Sure," she wore a grateful smile as she nodded. "Thanks, Steven."

Hyde replied to the smile by nodding his own head before he headed up the basement staircase to the kitchen. Even though she hadn't wanted a drink, Donna watched the exchange between her friends, even allowing her eyes to follow Hyde until he disappeared into the Forman's second floor. As soon as Hyde was gone, she swung her head to look at Jackie, finding the younger woman examining her pink painted fingernails.

"Is there something going on here that you wanna tell me about?"

Jackie lifted her head and saw the look Donna was giving her, it was one she did not like. "What're you talking about?"

"Right now," Donna said as if it were obvious, "with you and Hyde."

A straight faced expression appeared as Jackie recalled her teachings of the way of Zen. "That was just talk about getting a soda."

"Jackie, he remembered your favorite soda," Donna pointed out, not understanding why Jackie hadn't noticed—years ago she would have seen Hyde bringing her her favorite soda as a marriage proposal.

"So?" Jackie tone and facial expression appeared detached and uninterested. "Donna, people remember other people's favorite sodas all the time."

"Really?" Donna seemed to challenge with an arched eyebrow. She then turned to her _Gilligan's Island_ watching boyfriend. "Eric, what's my favorite soda?"

Eric hadn't been expecting the question at all. One moment he was enjoying the slapstick comedy of Bob Denver and the next he was being asked his girlfriend's favorite soda? Usually he knew all of Donna's likes and dislikes but the sudden question left him drawing a blank.

"Um…oran…root…ape?" he guessed and by her blank stare he got in reply Eric knew he'd guessed wrong. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the snack food bag and held it up to his girlfriend, " _Cheeze Doodle_?"

Donna had to look upwards as she shook her head; she knew one glance at the goofy look Eric wore on his face would cause her smile to break out onto her lips. Meanwhile, Jackie was not at all amused by the response Eric had given, she folded her arms over chest and leaned back in her seat as she shook her head.

"Donna, you need to work on his training," she commented making Eric scowl.

"You mean like the training you did with Hyde?" Donna teased, regarding the way Hyde had not only remembered but gotten up to get Jackie her favorite soda.

"No, Donna," Jackie said firmly, if not a bit annoyed. "There is no training with Steven, just like there is no Steven and me," she ignored the unexpected pang she felt at saying the words out loud. "We're just Jackie and Steven, two separate people. Two separate people who you should be happy are able to be in the same room together again."

Recalling how bad things had been between the pair of former lovers back during the last part of the seventies and the early start of the eighties, Donna did have to agree that she was glad Jackie and Hyde had been able to move past some of the anger enough to be able to be around each other a little more. Donna may not have been home much to experience most of this but it made coming back to Point Place a lot happier. She was glad that she came to see her friends she didn't have to drive all over town making various stops, they could all be found in one place: the basement. It made it feel more like old times.

"That's true," admitted Donna as she nodded her head.

As soon as Jackie saw that this was a good opportunity to take the topic of conversation off her and Steven, she jumped right into action. A smile pressed onto her lips and she uncrossed her arms and slapped her hands onto her lap.

"So, Donna," she smiled so brightly it almost made Donna feel nervous. "What are your plans for today, before dinner?"

The redhead shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I thought I'd just…sit around and…do nothing."

"That's my girl!" a proud Eric declared before wrapping his raised arm around Donna's shoulders, which made her smile sheepishly.

"You can sit around and do nothing any day," Jackie's dismissive hand wave told how she would not be participating in those plans and therefore would not let Donna do so either.

Donna frowned, "Not when you're in college."

"Come on, Donna, let's go shopping," Jackie practically pleaded.

Her friend's suggestion made Donna's scowl deepen even further on her forehead. "I don't know, Jackie. I'm not exactly in the mood to deal with crowds and sales…and having to 'oh' and 'aw' at everything you try on."

"But it'll be fun," the younger girl continued to try to persuade the taller one. "We could pick out a new outfit for me."

It wasn't working very well. Among other things. Donna wasn't sure how picking out a new outfit for Jackie would be considered fun. She really didn't feel like shopping.

"What do you need a new outfit for?" Donna couldn't help but ask curiously.

"For dinner tonight, of course."

Jackie's smile was met with Donna's frown. "It's just gonna be us. You don't need a new outfit," she reminded and gave a sort of half shrug. "It's kind of a weak excuse."

"No excuse is a bad excuse to go shopping," Jackie was very serious as she recited one of the golden rules of shopping.

"Can't we just go to your apartment to pick something out there? It's practically a department store," Donna was really trying to weasel out of making a trip to the mall.

Jackie's eyes widened the moment she heard the suggestion and her mind flashed right to her apartment and the furry little visitor that was hiding out there. She didn't want Donna to see the mouse, she herself didn't want to see it either. In fact, it was part of the reason she'd left her apartment in the first place.

"No!" she practically shouted, starling Donna and grabbing Eric's attention.

Donna lifted an eyebrow, "Why not?"

"Cuz she doesn't want you meetin' her new roommate," a smirking Hyde stated as he and the two soda cans reentered the basement.

"What?" Eric and Donna asked simultaneously.

"Nothing," Jackie was quick to answer, though her sharp glare was being directed straight at her smug looking ex.

She wanted to make sure her stare reminded him of the consequence of what would happen if he spoke a word about 'Mickey;' it seemed to have worked because he held his hands (and the sodas he still held) up in front of him to silently let her know he was backing off. Jackie warily watched him a little longer before figuring the best way out of this.

"Donna, let's go," she ordered already off the old couch and on her feet. "We can even look for something for you to wear tonight."

"Jackie, I was just planning on wearing this."

"Oh." Jackie gave Donna's jeans and flannel top a once-over, then patted the redhead's arm. "Let's go with my plan instead."

More than a little reluctantly, Donna allowed the former cheerleader to pull her into a standing position and then towards the basement's side door. Before she was ready to leave though, she did have something to say to her curly haired friend.

"You were right, Hyde. We're picking up right where we left off," Donna said as she was yanked out the door.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I know it was kinda short, but hopefully I can post the next chapter soon if you all want me to/are up to it. I'm also going on vacation next week so might not be able to update then, so I'd be up to posting another chapter soon if you all are!_

 _Next chapter we'll see more Red and Kitty and maybe find out a little more about the appointment they have to go to._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	6. Chapter 5: Same Ole Me

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hi everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! Sorry for this long wait on this next chapter, as I mentioned before I was on vacation the previous week and then this last week we took another mini-vacation along with other personal stuff I've had to deal with; but I'm here now and I hope you all are ready for this new chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" Again, thank you so much for all of the incredible support you've given this story it means a great deal! I really hope you liked this chapter, it's one of my favorites and I'm sure once you read it you'll know why. Now there's not a lot of Jackie/Hyde or other characters but it's still an important chapter, I think. AND just in case you're interested, try giving the song Same Ole Me by George Jones a listen to when/after reading this chapter. I discovered the song after writing the chapter but I thought it was pretty amazing how the song fit with the Red/Kitty stuff in this chapter and overall story. This reminds me, a very special thank you to MistyMoutainHop for the wonderful writing advice shared, thank you! And thank you all of you wonderful readers who stopped by to read this chapter, please review if you have a moment or two! Also quick note, you MIGHT want to have a tissue or two handy for this chapter, just a mild tissue-warning Thank you again to everyone who has shown interest and support in this story with reviews, favorites, alerts, and PMs, thank you soo very much! Thanks for reading, please review if you can, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

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Upstairs Kitty Forman was frantically cleaning the guest bathroom. She was really looking forward to having all of the kids back in her house tonight. She couldn't wait to hear about all the exciting things they had been up to. Of course what she was most excited for was just seeing them all together again, having fun and laughing; the house had been too quiet for too long. Kitty was sure that having everyone here would help bring some life back into the place.

She could use some extra happiness, something that could help keep her mind off certain things. However, since the others wouldn't be arriving till later in the day and it was still too early to start cooking dinner, the only escape Kitty was left with was cleaning and re-cleaning her already spotless house.

Kitty had just finished scrubbing the sink for the seventh time when she realized she needed another cleaning solution that she had left in the her and Red's bathroom.

Removing her pink rubber gloves and dropping them into them into the porcelain sink, she stepped out of the restroom and into the hallway towards her bedroom. Just as she made it in front of her room, she stopped in her tracks and frowned at the shut door. She was almost positive that she'd left it open the last time she had been in there.

Approaching the bedroom door, Kitty could have sworn she heard the faint sounds of steel guitars playing.

Her frown remained on her face as she pushed open the door, but the moment Kitty saw what was on the other side that frown softened until it was gone.

Red was there taking one of his afternoon naps, that's why the door had been closed. Knowing how important those naps were, Kitty carefully shut the door behind her and stepped further into the room. Over the tunes of the country music that softly played from the radio alarm clock, the door closed with a barely audible click that must have gone unheard by the undisturbed Red.

Smiling softly, Kitty began to tiptoe towards her husband's sleeping form. He was lying on his side at his half of the bed, he'd changed out of his uniform and into his usual getup of jeans and a plaid button-down but his feet were covered only by his socks while his boots were left kicked under the bed.

Now standing right beside him, Kitty had to fight the urge to reach out and touch him, in fear of waking him. Instead she just stood there and watched him sleep. She'd always liked watching Red sleeping, it was the one of the few times that his face was free of any creases that were often caused by annoyed frowns or angry scowls. He looked peaceful and rested; sometimes Kitty wished others could see this part of Red but then would remember how lucky it made her to be one of the few people who did.

When Kitty felt a sudden chill breeze past her, she realized her husband must be a little cold too. He was lying above the covers of the bed, probably so she wouldn't have to remake it later.

She grabbed the yellow and brown patterned afghan blanket from the armchair in their room and proceeded to drape it over her husband's body; making sure his feet were completely covered before tucking the blanket's other end over Red's shoulder.

Looking down at her handy work Kitty thought Red looked so nice and cozy…she couldn't resist joining him.

Though there would have been more space if she had gone around the bed and climbed onto her own side of the mattress, she settled herself into the small room left between Red and the left edge of bed. Kitty didn't want more space, she wanted her husband.

Red had remained in his peaceful slumber until his nose caught a sudden whiff of a sweet but very familiar perfume. His eyes opened slowly, just in time to see his wife burying her face against his chest and pulling out his previously folded arm so that it rested over her waist.

"Hey," he greeted, his voice still groggy with sleep.

Kitty smiled up at him, "Hi."

"What's this all about?"

"Just wanted to spend some time with my husband. Cuddled up in his arms," his wife explained while snuggling closer to him; she then looked up at him. "Do you mind?"

"Never," Red replied with a smirk before kissing the top her head.

One of Kitty's girlish giggles escaped her lips when she felt Red's lips touch her. He grinned down at her and snaked his other arm beneath her so he could draw her closer to him. With her head resting against his chest, Kitty could hear the soothing sound of her husband's steady heartbeat making her sigh contently. This had to be one of her favorite places in the world.

A silence fell over the couple as Merle Haggard crooned from the clock's speaker, asking Diana what she had planned that night. Kitty closed her eyes as listened to the words, partly trying to block them out. She enjoyed country music as much as her husband did but she liked the kind of country songs that you could sing along to and do-si-do with your dance partner to; the music Red had playing now was sad and somber.

It sounded romantic and sweet at first until one really listened to the words and realized the person singing the song was dying and on his way to meet up again with Diana. This was not the kind of music Kitty needed to hear at the moment.

"I keep thinking about the other night at the hospital," she spoke in a voice just above a whisper.

"Oh Kitty," Red sighed a bit as he hugged her a little closer.

He knew exactly what night Kitty was talking about. It had happened almost a week ago but she seemed just as shaken up about it as she had that night, and that night had been pretty bad. Red had to get a ride from Steven out to the hospital so that he could drive Kitty home in the Toyota she'd taken with her to work. She'd been too upset to drive home. It was rare when Kitty let her work life cross into her home life but when it did, it was usually quite serious.

Kitty touched one of the buttons on Red's shirt, letting her fingertips linger there as she spoke softly. "I can still see it."

"Kitty," his voice was soft but also very firm, conveying his own feelings about the whole situation. Red sympathized for his wife and wanted to be there for her but at the same time, hated how it had made her so upset. He gently rubbed his hand up and down her back, "you've been a nurse for years. You've seen nights like that. Worse nights even."

Her head shot up at him, "But this was different, Red," her soft tone had gained strength and some anger—couldn't he see how this was different? "We knew these people."

Red heaved out a sigh but tried not to sound too annoyed, "Kitty, we didn't know them…"

"Red, you worked with Dale for over twenty years at the plant," she reminded him.

"That doesn't mean that I knew him," he argued but had yet to release his wife from his hold; it wasn't her he was upset with. "After all that time of working with him, all I really knew about the guy was he couldn't meet a deadline to save his life, you didn't wanna get caught by the watercooler with him, and he's a dumbass."

She'd heard the reasons Red tried to justify not knowing Dale Clancy but chose to ignore them. Kitty knew that not only did her husband know Dale a lot better than he claimed but that deep down he might even consider the man an old friend.

Still, it wasn't Red's relationship with Dale that was concerning Kitty any and she shook her head as she reminded herself of this.

"He and Jolene had been married twenty-five years," she said out loud, though it sounded more like she was talking to herself. "He was completely heartbroken when they told him she had died."

Kitty's heart ached for the man all over again, losing the person he'd spent half his life with, the love of his life. She couldn't imagine being in that situation and loosing Red, it pained her just thinking about it. Her face hid against his chest and she breathed in the scent of his cologne mixed in with the motor oil from the shop, as she closed her eyes, hoping to seal in the burning tears.

Gazing down and only seeing the top of Kitty's blonde head, Red frowned lightly. "I thought you said he was throwing things around and threatening all the doctors and nurses on the scene."

"He was," she nodded, taking a moment to compose herself before looking up to meet her husband's eyes. "It was how he was expressing his heartbreak," she reasoned before reminding, "Anger is the first stage of grief and _boy_ , was he angry."

"You see, that's what happens when you hold in all that anger. When it finally comes out it explodes all over the place," Red remarked, a light frown remained wrinkled on his forehead. "You and the kids should be happy I don't hold in my anger…Kitty?"

Red's comment stopped midway when he saw that his wife was no longer looking at him but instead had shifted her focus back to third button on his shirt. Her fingertips touched it and her eyes studied the little blue circle but her mind was somewhere else.

"Kitty," he called again, this time removing his right hand from behind her and using it to capture her hand that was caressing the button.

She remained quiet, never looking up at him. Red hugged her a little closer to him, but Kitty hardly made a noise.

The quietness allowed Red to hear the lyrics to the new song that now filled his and his wife's bedroom; George Jones' Same Ole Me. Usually Red enjoyed George's music but as George sang on about growing older, about once steady hands starting to tremble, Red nearly scoffed at how ironic the words were to real life. If it hadn't meant losing his grip on Kitty, Red would have reached over and shut the damn thing off. Instead he continued to hold his wife, knowing that was all he could do till she was ready to talk, and continued to listen to the music.

In true form of The Possum, the song hit another true to life chord; while he was growing older and feeling like he was falling apart, his partner was still as beautiful as she'd ever been. He didn't know how she did it but Red was sure that the smile Kitty wore on their wedding day was the same he saw when she smiled at him today. There was no way he looked or even felt the same as he did when he married Kitty but the song was right, he may've been growing old but he was still the same Old Red who still loved Kitty and that would never change.

Slowly Kitty lifted her head and saw Red's soft, worried stare watching her. Blue eyes stared into his hazel ones. Those same hazel eyes she looked into when she said 'I do' decades ago, the hazel eyes she'd seen the birth of their children through, the hazel eyes she thought she'd look into as she grew old and grey.

The George Jones' tune began to wrap up, the chorus repeating how death couldn't keep the pair apart.

She drew in a shaking breath, "I think we should tell the kids."

"What?" Red asked as if she'd just proposed the most outrageous thing he'd ever heard.

First slowly, but then picking up speed, Kitty nodded her head. "I think it's time we told them about…"

"No."

He gradually loosened his arms from around her. He was angry at her for making the suggestion but he wasn't exactly ready to let her go.

"Red…"

"Kitty, we agreed we weren't going to say anything until we knew exactly what was going on," he reminded in a very firm tone.

"Honey, we know what's going on," she said, her voice thick with emotion. She wanted to deny it as much as he did but they couldn't live in denial anymore. The signs had been there for months and they'd gotten an official diagnosis almost four weeks ago. And who knew what tomorrow's appointment would bring. "It's time the kids did too. It's not fair to keep them in the dark anymore."

Red rolled onto his back and glowered up at the ceiling. He did not want to talk about this.

"It's perfectly fine keeping them there, Kitty. In situations like this, the kids' place is in the dark. Kids belong in the dark," Red tried to reason but from the way she was shaking her head, he knew that his wife was hearing none of it.

She sat up just a bit so that she could move closer to her husband's new position. This time she didn't cuddled up on top of him, instead she tucked herself into his side, propped up on her right elbow, while her left hand lingered over Red's chest. Her lips pressed tightly together before she forced them into a small smile.

"Red, honey, as much as it pains me to say this, they're not kids anymore," she told him with a sad shake of her head. Kitty would be the last one to say her kids were grown and didn't need them anymore, but she could see they were all growing up, much more than she imagined in some cases—like Michael Kelso. She was glad she was lucky to see these turn of events. "They deserve to know what's going on."

Opening his mouth, Red tried to protest but Kitty wasn't done.

"I don't want to do this anymore than you do," she wished she could spare them all from this; then as if to remind herself, Kitty went on to add, "But the longer we wait, the harder it'll be. Red, I don't wanna go through this alone."

"Kitty," he grabbed the hand she had resting over his heart and gave it a squeeze. "You won't be alone, you'll have me."

Kitty stared back at him but found the longer she looked at Red the more she felt like she was going to shatter into millions of little pieces. She swiftly turned her head to the side so that Red wouldn't see her tears. But Red knew they were there. Her actions made his heart sink as he realized that he alone wouldn't be enough to help his wife through this, she was going to need the dumbasses too.

Red sighed quietly, "Alright," he agreed and Kitty looked back at him when she felt a pat on the top of her hand. "We'll tell them. Sometime soon."

A frown started to form on Kitty's forehead and years of marriage told Red exactly what she was thinking.

"I don't wanna tell them tonight, Kitty," Red wanted to make sure it was clear that he wouldn't be budging on this. He'd already met her halfway in agreeing to tell the kids, now he could only hope that she would do the same and agree to holding off a little longer before breaking the news. "You said it yourself earlier, this is the first time in a while that they'll be together. Let's just let them enjoy a day or two catching up and doing whatever dumbass things they do, before we drop this burden on them."

" _Burden_?" she repeated; how on earth could he think this was a burden? "Red Forman, this is _not_ a burden."

"It will be for me," Red muttered on. "As soon as we tell them, those dumbasses are gonna be over here all the damn time again." Kitty rolled her eyes at the grumbling but then as her husband continued his voice softened, "And then how am I supposed to enjoy some peaceful alone time with my beautiful bride, huh?"

He released her hand and reached out to cup Kitty's slightly flushed cheek, making her smile as he did so. As the calloused pad of his thumb lovingly stroked her cheekbone, Kitty closed her eyes and placed her hand over his to gently press it closer to the side of her face. Red watched his wife wearing a tender smile on his lips and wished they could stay in that moment forever…although if he was making wishes that had a chance of coming true, he'd probably make a much bigger one.

Kitty's eyes fluttered open and she gave him a teary smile, "You really are the sweetest man alive, you know that?"

"I know," Red playfully smirked. "Just don't go around blabbing it to everyone."

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 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Again, I really do hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it if was too mushy or sad. Got some extra boxes of tissues if anyone needs any._

 _The next chapter will not be as sad, there will be more laughs, more characters, more familiar faces, and some interaction with Hyde and Jackie and a little character!_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	7. Chapter 6: Reelin' in the Years

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have for you a new chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" Didn't take too long to update this time, right? Hope not! Thank you all SO, SO very much for all of the incredible support and amazing words that you've left in reviews and PMs for this story, especially the last chapter. Thank you so much for all of you wonderful readers and a great big thank you to all you guest readers who I am can't PM but if I could I'd message you all with lots of thanks and hugs! I'm really glad that you all are enjoying the story so much and eager to find out what's going on, we'll start finding out very soon. This chapter is not as sad, and it's sorta 'filler' but with some important set up stuff too and fluff and interactions between some couples too. And then after this chapter things are gonna really get moving so get ready! Thank you once more for stopping by to read, if you have a few moments to review it would really mean a lot. Again all of you wonderful readers, guests, signed in, friends, new readers, readers who review who favorite or follow thank you! Your support truly means so much. Thank you for reading, please review if you can, thank you for your truly incredible support, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

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"Gin," Eric declared, laying out his hand of cards onto the round kitchen table.

Beneath his dark shades, Hyde's gaze shifted off his own cards and across the table at his adopted brother, a frown forming in his brow. "That's what we were playing?"

"Probably not," admitted Eric but he was already collecting their cards back into the deck. "I don't even know how to play that game."

Hyde nodded his head in agreement, he couldn't recall knowing how to play that card game either. He'd pretty much gone from Go Fish to Poker in terms of growing up with card games. Meanwhile Kitty, who was standing over by the stove enjoying having her boys back home, shook her head at what she was hearing. Of course the boys knew how to play Gin Rummy; she'd taught them herself! She was just about to remind them of this very fact when commotion outside stole her attention.

"Well now what was that?" she asked, her gaze on the sliding doors that remained covered with by the gold curtains.

Both boys listened carefully and soon their ears picked up the noises that their mother was referring to. It sounded like car doors slamming and footsteps scurrying through the snow covered ground, there was even quite a bit of laughing and squealing. If they had to guess it sounded like kids getting off the school bus, excited to start their weekend.

However, it was after five o'clock, too late for kids to be getting home from school. There was only one other explanation.

"Sounds like the Kelso clan," guessed Hyde.

"Oh," Kitty smiled when she realized how right he could be. "Steven, sweetie, get the door, please."

He nodded his head, "Sure thing, Mrs. Forman."

Then the moment Kitty was no longer looking at him, Hyde sent a mischievous smirk down Eric's way. Eric caught the smirk and his left eyebrow raised inquiringly, what could Hyde be up to?

His smirk staying on his lips, Hyde remained seated in his chair as he stretched his arm out towards the sliding door, pushed away the golden colored material slightly so that he could find the door's latch. Finding the latch, Hyde turned it until there was a faint click just barely heard over Eric's chuckling. Hyde just smirked and relaxed back in his seat, now they just had to wait…

Crash!

"Ow! My eye!" exclaimed a familiar voice followed by a little giggle.

The sounds heard from outside the house made a smirk flicker onto Hyde's lips and Eric's laughter continued; the only person in the kitchen who wasn't amused by what had been heard was Kitty who had worriedly looked over at the glass door the moment she'd heard the bang. When she spotted her grinning sons, Kitty was able to fill in the blanks of what had happened.

"Oh," Hyde tried to appear innocent under the pointed look his surrogate mother was send straight his way. "Did you not want me to lock it?"

Eric was still greatly enjoying the fact that for once it was golden son Hyde who was in hot water with their mother but took a moment to reach over and unlock the sliding door for his childhood friend.

Moments later the glass door was yanked open, allowing Michael Kelso to step inside the warm kitchen. In his left arm he held his smiling little girl while his right hand was covering his right eye and though that side of his face was hidden, based off the way the left side of Kelso's face looked like, he was not happy.

"Okay, who locked the door?" Kelso wanted to know, his left eye doing all the glaring, "I didn't even know that door could do that!"

Kelso had a point. It really was rare that the kitchen door was locked, it was rare any of the doors in the Forman home were locked. The little prank had been chosen wisely and played out perfectly, but Eric wasn't about to take credit for it. His finger pointed his taller friend in the direction of the mastermind behind the joke; straight at Steven Hyde.

It took a few moments for Kelso to figure out where Eric was pointing—thanks to the hand still covering his injured eye—but when he saw who it was he realized he should have known the answer. "Aw, come on Hyde! I really hurt my eye."

That same little laugh that was heard outside was heard once again. This time though the laugh was much louder and it was clear to see who it belonged to.

"Daddy's silly," Betsy said between giggles, her little hands covering her mouth.

Hyde's smirk grew, watching how entertained the little girl was at her father's pain. The kid had a good sense of humor. It made Hyde feel pretty good, that he had a part in making the little kid laugh; after all, she was his goddaughter.

"Sorry, Kelso, man," he apologized but didn't sound very sincere, his smug smile was in-plain-sight. "Just doing my godfatherly duty of making my goddaughter laugh."

"Fine," grumbled the older boy, not happy about accepting the apology but knowing it was the right thing to do. "Only cuz of Betsy," suddenly a grin broke onto his face, "And cuz you said _duty_."

A full, loud laugh erupted from Kelso and even though she wasn't sure why there was laughter, Betsy liked the sound of her dad's laugh and she started laughing her little girl laugh too. Hyde meanwhile, smiled and nodded approvingly at the father daughter happiness.

"Uh, Kelso, aren't you a cop?" Eric asked, how could the word 'duty' still crack the man up this much?

"Yeah," he nodded, "And I'm on _duty_ a lot!"

While the two Kelsos continued to laugh endlessly, the third missing member of the little family poked their head inside.

"Hi everyone," she greeted with a happy smile.

"Hey Brooke."

Once she made sure she had whipped her feet out on the patio, so as not to bring any wet mush onto the Formans' clean kitchen floor, Brooke stepped into the house and exchanged friendly greetings with some of her boyfriend's closest friends. She then took Betsy from Kelso, so he could keep talking with his friends and she could take off their daughter's bright purple and even brighter pink snowsuit.

Both her coat and Betsy's winter accessories were hung up on the wall mounted coat rack before Brooke scooped her daughter back into her arms and took her with her to properly greet the evening's host.

"Hi, Mrs. Forman," Brooked gave Kitty a one armed hug, the other arm being provided by Betsy. "Thanks for having us over."

Her smile remained in place as Kitty pulled away from the hug, "Oh you know, you are always welcomed here. It is such a joy seeing you and Little Betsy."

Then Kitty handed the tot one of her freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that Betsy took without any encouragement.

"Thank you," Betsy said showing off her pearly little teeth.

Betsy's cute little manners made Kitty giggle while Brooke beamed with pride—she didn't even have to remind her! They had also caught the attention of her father and when he looked back he quickly caught the sight of cookie she was holding. Kelso's stomach began to rumble and ache; it had been so long since he'd had one of Mrs. Forman's cookies. They were even better that those new _Mrs_. _Fields_ cookies that Brooke bought from the store sometimes.

"Aw, I want a cookie," Kelso's voice carried a faint whine as he walked towards Kitty.

Kitty had to laugh at the taller man's antics. Michael Kelso probably had the most adult life out of all of the kids from the basement—much to Kitty and everyone else's surprise—but he still had the childlike innocence to him that could always bring a smile to Kitty's face.

"Michael, honey, it is always so good to see you too."

"Yeah, it is," replied Kelso without a trace of humbleness. "Cuz I'm a good lookin' person and good lookin' people are always good to see. Which reminds me," he then eyed Kitty up and down while allowing his grin to grow. "It's good to see you too, Mrs. Forman."

"Oh Michael, you sweet talker," she giggled while trying to shoo him off. "Here take a cookie."

Kelso promptly ripped the sugary treat out of Kitty's grasp, "Score!"

While munching on the tasty cookie, Kelso stepped back over to where his two childhood friends were seated at the kitchen table and took a seat in the empty chair that was between them.

"So Eric, man, how's the new year at college going?" his interest in the academic school year surprised Eric until Kelso added the second half of his question, "Any hot new chicks?"

"Michael!"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry," Kelso swiftly apologized as he turned his head in the direction that the sharp scold had come from, then he looked back at his friends. "Any hot new _girls_?" His rephrased phrase only got him puzzled looks from the guys, forcing him to explain his correction. "I'm not supposed to call chicks, 'chicks' anymore."

Hyde's brows furrowed close to each other; he'd called girls chicks before and they'd never said anything about it. Not even the chick who would have been the most likely one to say something about being compared to fowl birds. "Why not?"

"Cuz _supposably_ ," the young father dragged out the mispronounced word while his eyes looked up at the ceiling in annoyance. "It's degrading and disrespectful to women which will someday include my daughter, blah, blah, blah…."

The argument may have had some solid points but Kelso's tone of voice sounded less passionate and more like a seven-year-old who was asked to recite a certain rule that he was not very happy about having to follow.

"But I don't get how it includes Betsy. She's not a woman, she my little girl and she's gonna stay that way for like…ever!" declared Kelso, ignoring the looks exchanged by the other occupants in the kitchen. "And chicks are totally cute, both the birds and the girls. It's a total compliment! I mean it's not like we're calling them pigeons."

Eric's left eyebrow hooked upwards, his friend had come up with pigeons awfully quick. "What's wrong with pigeons?"

"They're like rats with wings! Except not the cool kind. They've got those sharp beaks and beady little eyes…and they're everywhere you look! You turn around and they're there and…and…" Kelso suddenly found himself on the verge of a break down and shook his head in attempt to control himself. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Pouting and looking down, Kelso folded his arms over his chest and sulked deep into his seat. The others in the room saw his actions but before anyone could voice a question, the kitchen's sliding doors were pulled open by two new visitors.

"You see Donna, I told you they were here," Jackie stepped into the kitchen with her taller friend right behind her. "Now I get to see my favorite person in the whole world!"

Kelso's mopey expression twitched into a smug smirk when he heard his ex-girlfriend's words. "Guess it's true what they say," he said to the room but mostly Hyde and Eric. "You never really get over your first love."

He then stood up and opened his arms wide, ready to be embraced in a big hug, only to have Jackie walk right past him and straight to where Brooke was holding Jackie's goddaughter.

"Betsy!"

Brooke wasted little time in handing Betsy over to Jackie who was beaming with happiness before she even had the little one in her arms.

As Jackie fawned over his daughter, Kelso watched on—arms still wide and waiting—his face skewed with hurt and confusion. Of course, Kelso's pain did often bring amusement to the rest of the group.

"Well, Kelso, looks like you were just burned by your sweet little girl," Eric noted with a smirk.

"Baby Burn," nodded Hyde, his lips curling in his own smile. "Nice."

"Burn Daddy!" Betsy exclaimed, her chubby little hand pointed at her daddy before it shyly retreated to her little face.

With a light sigh, Brooke shook her head and looked at the group, "I'm sure you all know who taught her that."

"I did," Kelso largely grinned while informing his friends of something that they'd already put together themselves.

"Oh, oh this is so nice. Everyone here, together again…" Kitty gushed, sounding like she was becoming overcome with emotions of having all of her kids together again. "I need to get my camera!"

With Mrs. Forman out of the room to fetch her camera and since her daughter was being held and adored over by Godmother Jackie, Brooke looked over at Donna who was still standing near the sliding door bundled in her bulky buttoned up winter coat. Donna smiled back at the older girl and the two then became engrossed with a conversation about college and studies.

Eric watched his girlfriend from where he sat at the kitchen table. Even though it felt like the semester had only started, he knew the past week or so had been hectic for his Donna, it was nice to see her smiling now.

His thoughts about the redhead's happiness were soon interrupted when Kelso sat back in his seat and nudged Eric's boney elbow with his own.

"Man, check it out," Kelso's grin was wide and growing; his gaze—like Eric's—was focused on Brooke and Donna. "We totally scored smarties who are totally hotties! How lucky are we?"

Because Eric did consider himself quite lucky that a girl like Donna could ever be with him, he started to nod his head in agreement. Kelso laughed loudly as he nodded his head too, he was about to lift his open palm up for a high five, when the two women they were talking about turned their heads at the sound of the laughter. Instantly Kelso and Eric's chuckles were silenced, Eric even managed to pull down his smile but Kelso on the other hand wore that dopey giveaway grin of his.

Donna wasn't sure what the two had been up, but she wasn't getting a good feeling about it. "Why do I feel the need to deck one of you dillholes?"

That swiped the smile right off Kelso's lips.

"It was Eric!" Kelso declared with an accusing finger pointing straight at Eric—it was clear to see where Betsy had picked up that trade too.

Wide-eyed Eric looked from Kelso to Donna then back at Kelso, "What? No!" he looked at his girlfriend, hoping she'd believe him. "No!" the way she crossed her arms over her chest did not look very promising. "I…no…it was…I….I…" his mouth flapped open and close but no real words were forming; there was no way out of this. Unless…he cleared his throat and looked at Donna, "So, how was shopping?"

Despite rolling her eyes at the way Eric had deflected the previous subject, Donna decided to answer his question. "It was okay, not as bad as I remembered," she admitted, a smidge of a smile twitching on her lips. "I actually had a good time."

"Of course you did, you were with me," reminded a beaming Jackie as she sat herself and Betsy into the empty kitchen seat across from Hyde's.

Just then the swinging door was swung open as Mrs. Forman walked back into the kitchen looking camera-ready. And for Kitty Forman, camera-ready meant having _her_ camera ready. She'd open through the entrance with her camera already in her hands and its viewfinder pressed to her right eye.

"Okay, everyone smile and say cheese!"

Her command was cheerful and merry and everyone knew better than to object or make any kind of fuss. Instead they moved closer together, making sure they were in the camera's view, Donna and Brooke moved to stand near their boyfriends while Jackie turned her seat around to make sure she and Betsy were captured in the right angle—even taking a moment to make sure they weren't blocking Steven's face in the photo.

A loud click and even brighter flash captured the happy gathering of friends, making Kitty giddy as she giggled. With the picture taken, the group began to move away from each other, and everyone began rubbing their eyes in attempt to stop the weird colored circles they were seeing. Everyone but Hyde whose sunglasses helped shield him from the camera's blinding flashbulb; he looked on at the suffering of his friends, smirking an amused smirk.

"Oh Michael, I can't get over how cute Betsy is!" Jackie continued to rave and babble on about the little girl seated on her lap. "She's just like the dolls I used to have when I was little."

"Aunt Jackie's berry pretty too," Betsy assured while holding the shiny heart pendant on Jackie's necklace.

Jackie gasped and her hand flew to her heart as her facial expression showed how touched she was by the flattery and Jackie pulled her goddaughter into another big hug. "Oh! She's even better than my old dolls. My dolls never told me I was pretty unless I made them."

"By threatening them to Satan?" Eric finished Jackie's thought with his guess of how Jackie had made her dolls do something.

The comment earned Eric an angry snarl but that was about it. There was no witty comeback nor a wicked burn served back at the fellow duelist; Jackie stayed quiet, cuddling her goddaughter in her arms. Everyone in the room seemed to think the sight was endearing, Kitty even snapped a photo, but Hyde thought his ex-girlfriend's behavior was quite odd.

"What's with you?" he asked, knowing no one else would.

"Nothing," she replied, her right cheek still gently resting on the top of little Betsy's head.

Hyde was not convinced. "You know she's not yours to keep right?"

"I know."

"Really?" one of Hyde's eyebrows peeked out from the top of his shades. "Cuz you're looking like you're gonna put the kid in your bag soon as no one's lookin' and take her over to that house of mouse of yours."

Eyes widened, not with shock this time but rather anger and fury. Jackie couldn't believe he had said that in front of all of their friends. Had he not remembered what she'd said earlier? He was lucky that no one else seemed to have caught his comment, but she had and she was not going to act like she hadn't.

Her eyes stayed locked on Hyde's shaded ones as an evil smile crept onto Jackie's lips as she lifted her head from Betsy.

"Aw Betsy, I think Uncle Hyde is getting jealous," she told the girl and Hyde wondered how she could make that sinister smile change so suddenly to a warm cheerful one for Betsy. "He wants to spend some time with you too."

Before Hyde could even attempt to stop her, Jackie was on her feet and happily placing their goddaughter right on his lap like he was some sort of mall Santa Claus. Betsy grinned up at him while Hyde sat there more than a bit awkwardly, he'd cautiously move his hand to Betsy's back but that was because he wasn't sure if she'd fall if he didn't. When did kids start getting better balanced? When they were one or two? Then again Hyde had to keep in mind that this kid was a Kelso and probably prone to falling down a lot thanks to her father's genes.

"I like your sunglasses," Betsy said, looking at the faint reflection she saw in his lenses.

"Thanks, Bets…"

Then her little arm reached up and pulled those very sunglasses she'd been admiring off Hyde's face. She expertly put them on herself and smiled at the owner of the glasses she's just swiped. The frames were obviously too big for Betsy's little head but it made her look even more adorable with them on; however, wearing the shades didn't make Betsy feel cute, they made her feel cool like her Uncle Hyde.

"Mommy, look!" Betsy shouted, "I'm Uncle Hyde!"

Brooke was horrified. She'd never seen Steven Hyde without his infamous sunglasses before and now that they had been take off by her own daughter, she didn't know what could happen next.

"Betsy, no!" she scolded sternly, shaking out her shock enough to start to step over to where her daughter sat. "We don't take thing that don't belong to us. Hyde I am so sorry."

"It's cool, Brooke," Hyde insisted, lifting his hand to silently tell the mother to leave the glasses on.

The kid could actually pull them off, he thought with a smile as he watched Betsy. It was same smile that Kitty managed to capture on film with the help of her trusty camera. Usually Hyde did not enjoy being photographed without his shades on but this time he didn't seem to mind, he barely gave it a thought; instead the only though going through his mind at the moment was about how maybe this wouldn't be such a bad weekend after all.

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I know there wasn't a whole lot of action or drama but hopefully you got a few laughs or smiles. And we did get some of the missing characters on scene. Some characters are still missing and some we haven't seen in a while. But don't worry we haven't see (or heard) the last of Jackie's new little roommate just yet!_

 _Next chapter we'll see more of the gang hanging out like old times, including Red seeing them taking up space in his house. And one of The Formans causes a slight change in the night's dinner plans…anyone wanna take up any guesses on that?_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	8. Chapter 7: Our House

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have for you a new chapter of "If You Ever Believe" and I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you so much for all the wonderful support you've given this story so far, your reviews are just the sweetest and it makes me so happy when I see it's been added to someone's favorites or alerts. I know you guys are anxious to find out what will happen next, especially with Red and this chapter might just answer your question or give you a better idea…maybe. I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you for stopping by to read this chapter, I hope you like it and please don't forget to review if you have a free minute or two, I'd so love to hear your thoughts! Thanks! I hope the wait between these two chapters wasn't too long this time, I'm getting better at updating…sorta :) Thank you again for all of your incredible support, it really means so much! Thank you for reading, please review if you can, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

* * *

About an hour and a half later, maybe closer to two hours, the group of friends had made themselves quite comfortable up in the sitting nook of The Forman kitchen. Kelso continued to sit on the barstool closer to the table with Brooke sitting on the second orange colored chair, joining in on the conversation like she had been hanging out in the basement with them all through the seventies. The other four, Eric, Donna, Hyde and Jackie remained seated at the kitchen table and at some point Betsy had given back the aviator sunglasses to her godfather and returned to the seat on her godmother's lap.

Kitty had made her exit from the room several minutes before, claiming she had to check on something upstairs. No one seemed to pay much attention to Kitty's explanation though, and just continued to munch on the homemade cookies and talk about all things new and reminisce about all the good old days.

They'd just finished revisiting the memory of the time the guys had all gone to Canada when Fez had 'lost' his green card, and were still laughing at the song Fez used to help him remember where his card was, when the sliding door was pulled open by the former green card holder and missing member of the group.

"Okay, Miss. Kitty, I am here to help you with the…What the hell?" Fez's cheerful greeting suddenly got dialed up to a screeching pitch when he spotted all of his friends sitting, laughing, eating delicious cookies—all without him. "You sonsofbitches!"

Brooke's eyes widened in a warning manner as she stared at the fuming foreigner, "Fez, _language_."

She understood that Michael's friends weren't used to having a little pitcher around all the time but wished that when she and Betsy were there they would be more cautious of the words they were saying and the big, impressionable ears that were hearing them.

Hands on hips, Fez turned his head and glared right back at the young mother. "Hey, you try speaking in a second language all the time and then talk to me about language," he defended himself before looking back at his so called friends. "How long have you people been here?"

It was clear that Fez was very upset and him getting more upset wouldn't be very pretty; quick looks and glances were exchanged between the rest of the basement gang as they silently came up with a plan.

"Not long."

"We just got here."

"Just sat down."

"I wouldn't say _that_ long."

"Like only a minute."

The group talked over one another but their excuses could still be understood…not that Fez seemed to be willing to hear any of them.

"Liars!" he declared with great fury, it actually startled some of his pals.

"Okay, fine," Kelso seemed exasperated as he started to speak. "We've been here for a long time. But in our defense…we all kinda thought you were already here."

Those words and large grin that came from one of his closest friends felt like a slap in the face to poor Fez—the look he wore on his face made it look there had been an actual slap, minus the dramatic hand coming up to press against the wounded cheek. He couldn't believe his friends had not noticed that he had not been there, they thought he was there when he really wasn't, it was almost like he didn't exist to them! That thought saddened the foreign man even more. Had they been in a cartoon, this would be the part where you saw a little heart shattering into little pieces.

If Kelso wasn't seated farther away at the breakfast bar, Hyde would've delivered a powerfully painful frog to his shoulder. "Come on, man, don't be a jerk. Look Fez, we tried callin' you."

"Really?" Fez sounded as uncertain as a shy child talking to newly introduced adult.

"Oh yeah, yeah," agreed Eric, always eager to join in on Hyde's schemes and also not wanting his foreign friend to be mad at them for the rest of the weekend. "We had Kelso calling out on the porch and everything. He was calling you for like, half an hour."

Fez was surprised to hear this revelation—and so was Kelso!

"What? I…" the taller man stood up ready to protest but quickly saw the warning, almost murderous glare Donna was sending him, just before Jackie's pointed shoe collided with his ankle. "Oww! Yeah! Yeah, totally," Kelso said, hoping his yelp could pass as an exaggerated 'oh.' He understood that his friends wanted him to play along with their lie or there'd be serious consequences so he took that story to an extra level.

"Fez! Fez! Fez!" shouted Kelso, his cupped hand at the side of his mouth—demonstrating what he must have looked like on the patio—he soon lowered his hand and shrugged his shoulders. "Guess you didn't hear me."

Now Fez was the one feeling guilty. His friends had been calling him and he was the one who had not been paying them any attention.

"Aye, I am sorry," he nervously played with his fingers while looking at the group.

Understanding head nods and smiles were given from the others to show that there were no hard feelings, but it was Kelso who had slapped his hand on Fez's shoulder.

"It's okay, we all make mistakes, Little Buddy."

A genuine smile soon found its way back onto Fez's lips and he joined the foursome sitting at the kitchen table. He sat himself in the empty seat next to Jackie's so that he could say hello to the littlest member of the group. Just as Betsy moved over from her godmother's lap to the lap of the man who always had candy, the kitchen's swinging door was pushed open by the owners of the house.

Red was scowling and his feet were shuffling as he moved from the shag carpet to the titled floor, it was clear he did not appreciate being dragged in away from whatever he'd been previously doing; however, he put up little of a fight and allowed Kitty to lead him into the room. Her hand gripped his wrist and she pulled his arm as she walked ahead of him grinning and giggling with glee.

Finally, they stopped and Kitty released his wrist so that both her hands were free to gesture at her surprise.

"Tada!" her happy exclamation matched the way her hands fluttered at the group of friends gathered in her kitchen.

His wife looked like she was on a game show, showing off a bundle of grand prizes but all Red saw was a bundle of grand dumbasses.

"Kitty, what's so special about this?" He grumbled, still grimacing at the sight as he shoved both his hands into the pockets of his pants. "It's the same damn scene that took place in our basement for over fourteen years. Only now it's taking place in our kitchen," his angry frown slowly morphed into a sullen look of realization. "They're reaching higher grounds. Pretty soon they'll be up in our bed with us."

"Hey, just say the word, big guy," came the comment from a smiling Fez.

"Ew!"

"No way!"

"Oh come on, man!"

"What?" Fez didn't appear to understand the disgusted reactions his friends had. "They have a new mattress. Very bouncy."

While the others continued to squirm and repulse, including—and most especially—Red, Kitty took a moment to give a proper welcome her newly arrived guest.

"Fez, honey, it's about time you got here."

"Oh, I knew I could count on you Miss. Kitty, to remember me," Fez beamed up at the woman who was his mother away from home. "You did not take the group picture yet, did you?"

"Oh," the smile Kitty wore began to shrink just a tad. She didn't want to disappoint the boy by telling him the truth and the looks that her other children were sending her told her that she shouldn't do it either. Swiftly, she forced on a smile and released a laugh that was even more over the top thanks to her jittery nerves. "Well of course not, silly! How could I if you weren't here yet?"

Letting out another forced laugh, the blonde woman grabbed her camera from the spot where she'd left it on the counter. And though Mrs. Forman was known to be quite the photo taker, Fez still found it odd that the camera was located so close by, loaded with film and new flashbulbs already.

As if sensing Fez's confusion, Kitty looked at the camera, "And _now_ you are here and that's why I have my camera to take the picture _now_. Everybody squeeze in together!"

In just a matter of moments, the group of friends were squeezing in together around the kitchen table. Kelso and Brooke having gotten off from their seats at the bar, Jackie turning her spinning chair around, every one of the smiling faces was looking at the camera and fitting within its frame.

"Okay," Kitty had the camera pushing against her face while her husband stood behind her. "Everyone say cheese!"

"Again?" a puzzled Betsy asked.

The little girl's question made Fez's own brow scrunch with confusion; however, before any of the photo's subjects could speak the photographer was calling out more orders.

"Betsy, sweetie, over here!" she waved a hand over the camera. "Say cookies!"

"Cookies!"

With that the photo of the carefree moment was snapped, all confusion and hurt feelings having suddenly faded away.

Kitty lowered the camera, smiling as she watched the mingling and laughing taking place at her kitchen table. It was just like she'd remembered only with the more adult versions of her basement babies. "Oh Red, isn't it sweet? They're all grown up."

"Yeah. They're still a bunch of dumbasses though. Every last one of them," Red groused surveying the group without the same melancholy as his wife. "Every time they're here it's like there's more of them! Who're you?"

Everyone in the room became quiet and they looked at one another silently trying to figure out who the balding man was referring to. Once they figured it out, there was even more confusion especially for the standing brunette that the question was directed at.

Mr. Forman hardly ever spoke to her. She'd never taken it as an insult and didn't think it was because he didn't like her, in fact she saw it as quite the opposite. Red not talking to her meant he didn't yell at her either which had to have meant she was somewhat in his good graces…right?

"I'm Brooke, Mr. Forman," the young woman explained with a friendly smile that Red merely frowned at.

However, the furrow on Red's forehead wasn't done with anger or annoyance; it looked more like he was thinking, as if he were trying to place Brooke's face or pair her name with a memory.

Watching his adoptive father carefully, Hyde tried to help, "Red, man, you've met Brooke before."

"Yeah, she's been to the house lots of times," reminded Eric. He wasn't sure what confused him more: his father not remembering one of his friends or his father actually _wanting_ to remember one of his friends.

"And she's hot," Kelso jumped in, not so much as to help Red but to defend his girlfriend's honor. "So you couldn't have forgotten her."

Kitty shook her head at the boys' antics before she stepped closer to her husband. "Red, honey," she gently placed her hand on his arm, getting him to look at her almost instantly. She gave him an assuring smile, "You remember Brooke, she's Betsy's mother…"

"Of course I remember her," Red sounded like he was insulted at idea of him forgetting something like this. He turned back to look at Brooke, his scowl just a little less harsh. "You're the smart one. The kid's mom. And you work at the library."

"That's right," Brooke was clearly more at ease.

"You see, I remember," he repeated, his eyes gazing pointedly at his wife causing Kitty to roll hers in return. "You changed your hair or something didn't you?"

"Um yes," nodded Brooke, touching her thick locks. "I gave it some more volume."

Red's index finger shot out in a way that would have been intimidating had it not been for the grin he wore on his face. "That's it! You see, I notice little details like that. I'm not as old as you people are making me out to be. Brooke, you ended up with the kettlehead didn't you?"

"We have been together for a while."

"The smart one and the kettlehead one…" Red shook his head. "How'd that happen?"

"Hey, Fez," Kelso's voice exclaimed, interrupting Brooke's reply before it could even begin. He was sitting back on the barstool picking grapes off the plastic bunch from the fruit bowl. "How many of these grapes do you think I can eat before I start feeling sick?"

Brooke turned her head away from her boyfriend and back to Mr. Forman, a small smile on her lips, "Sometimes I ask myself that question."

"Michael, honey, don't eat the wax fruit. There's no room for a trip to the emergency room in tonight's plans," Kitty said as she took the fruit display out of young man's reach. "And okay, Red, since I have you here why don't you go stand over with the kids and I'll take a picture of all of you."

A deep grimace showed Red's disapproval at the idea. "Kitty, the last time we did that, I had a heart attack."

"Oh come on," Kitty pleaded, not wanting to think about the previous incident and photo that Red was referring too. Kitty just wanted one photo of her husband and all their kids that she could look at without having to remember the health scare that could have cost Red his life.

It even looked like the kids wanted a photo too—either that or they were just trying to get under Red's skin. Among the various 'please' and a few hands waving him over, Jackie had recruited Betsy to clap her hands, trying to cheer Mr. Forman on and encourage him to come get in the picture. But none of it was working and Red could just not be swayed over.

"Fine," huffed Fez. "If Red will not come to the picture, the picture will come to Red!"

The suddenly gusty feeling foreigner, moved Betsy from his lap to Jackie's before he stood out of his seat and approached Red. The moment he was close enough to the older man, Fez grinned and threw his arms around Red's broad shoulders and squeezed him tightly.

Too shocked to do anything other than stare at Haji like he'd lost his mind, Red demandingly questioned, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Oh me too! Me too!" exclaimed Michael Kelso, running to join the hug like an overeager little puppy.

He wanted to be part of the picture too! Not only was he extremely photographic and helped any bad picture turn into a good one, but getting your photo taken with Red Forman was about as rare as snapping a picture with Big Foot!

Now Red had a dumbass on either side of him and was beginning to feel like the meat in a dumbass sandwich.

"Take your damn hands off of me," Red ordered, still struggling to get himself untangled from the two pairs of arms. "And get the hell away from me."

Kelso continued to hug him, "You can only pick one, Red."

"Quick Miss. Kitty take the picture!" cried Fez but Kitty never moved her camera an inch.

Only Kitty seemed concerned with the fight Kelso and Fez were making Red put up; Eric, Hyde and the girls found the scene funny and amusing. Upsetting Red just made it feel more like the old days.

The fighter side of Red was apparent as he continued to try to set himself free. Every time he'd get rid of one dumbass the other would latch on and the pattern repeated itself continuously. Red had managed to refrain from any physical violence, because of the kid in the room, but keeping himself from using the word 'dumbass' was another story.

At long last, Red was able to break free and stared crossly at the two dumbass captives who smiled friendly grins in return. Not smiling back, Red looked like he was about to direct them both outside where he could finish kicking their asses out of young Betsy's line of vision but instead something unexpected happened.

Red took one step towards Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum but on the second step he somehow lost his balance and would have fallen to the floor if he hadn't grabbed onto the edge of the rounded, lower leveled part of the kitchen counter.

It was a sight not missed by anyone—especially not Kelso or Fez, who promptly proceeded to lift their open palms up in front of their chests before backing up a few steps, not wanting to get blamed for any of it.

"Dad," Eric voice was alarmed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," muttered Red, already shooing his wife away from him. "Just keep your moron friends away from me."

"Fez," Jackie scolded. Though they weren't a couple anymore, she still felt some responsibility for the man-child; maybe because of their close friendship.

Brooke on the other hand was not only romantically involved with Michael Kelso but had a child with him, still she felt like she used her warning tone with him more than their daughter, "Michael."

"I barely touched him!" argued Kelso.

"Okay!" Kitty clapped her hands and giggled nervously; she didn't want her husband's stress levels to move up any more than they already had. "Kids, why don't you go on downstairs so I can get started on dinner?"

Donna had never see Red fall like that, she'd never seen him slip or trip either. When she thought of Red Forman she always pictured him standing tall and strong somewhere, but now it was like a sudden draft had nearly caused him to tumble forward. And maybe she'd imagined it but when it happened, Donna could have sworn she saw a look of embarrassment cross his face for a split second. Was he embarrassed that it had happened or that they had all been there to see it happen? For the first time in the twenty or so years she'd known him, Donna felt herself empathizing with Mr. Forman…maybe he was hiding something from them.

Despite all these thoughts and concerns swirling in her mind, Donna was the first to stand and lead the others to follow suit.

"Man, Red always ruins all our fun," sulked Kelso while he and Fez sluggishly followed Brooke and Betsy towards the kitchen door that would lead down to the basement.

"Yes," Fez agreed, just as disappointed. "Just like the time he made me and Laurie stop being married."

"Yeah, but to be fair that probably would have happened anyway."

Realizing that his man-pretty friend made a valid point, Fez nodded his head alongside Kelso. Neither one of them noticed how angry Red was getting at being reminded of how his 'Kitten' had once been married to the foreigner who ate things off the floor.

"Okay, off you go!" Kitty laughed again, practically shoving the pair towards the basement's exit. "Go talk, catch up, watch TV and I'll get started on our dinner of spa-kitty and meatballs."

A frown furrowed itself onto Eric's forehead and he stopped in his tracks creating a wedge between the basement and the remaining half of the group.

"We're having spaghetti tonight?" he asked, not hiding his disappointment very well.

"No, no, no, we're having spa-kitty _and_ meatballs," his mother giggled a genuinely happy laugh. She was so excited to cook for a big group again. "It's my own special recipe." Spotting the long face her son wore the corners of her own lips went down. "What's wrong?"

Eric kept his head bowed and shifted his gaze downwards and to the side, "I don't know," he shrugged sluggishly. "I guess I was just hoping for something bigger for our welcome home dinner like…" Eric's lean shoulder shrugged again, this time a bit more elaborately. "Pork chops or something."

"Pork chops?" Red barked out the echo of the words. "Pork chops are expensive. What makes you think you're special enough for a buck ninety-five a pound, pork chops?"

"Well, not to brag," Eric began to say, though his smirk was bragging plenty; "But I do have the second highest grade in my Linear algebra class."

Kitty ignored the way her husband rolled his eyes and focused on their son and the prideful grin he wore. He really was so proud of his high grade and she was proud of him too. She knew her baby had been working hard in his classes and now that he was home for the holiday weekend he deserved some home-cooked meals made with lots of love—and some of those meal should be those of his choosing.

"I…I suppose I could make pork chops, they really don't take too long to make" she agreed, her mind going through the menu and deciding what side dishes could stay and what should be switched out. "And it's not _too_ late to change some of the night's menu…"

This was cause for celebration but before Eric could pump his fist, his mother continued on.

"You'll need to go to the store to buy the pork chops though."

"What? Me?" Eric looked like he'd been handed a draft notice. "Mom, I've got company."

"I'll go, Mrs. Forman."

Looking over at his adoptive brother, Eric tried not to be upset at the volunteering reflex Hyde seemed to have when it came to his parents. "Hyde, you have company too."

"Been a long time since I considered any of these guys company," Hyde remarked missing the small glare Jackie sent from behind him.

Eric sighed, becoming slightly frustrated with the situation, "Look, Mom, can't Dad just go or something?"

His mother's blonde curls shook but not in the happy bouncy way they normally did, "No, no he can't."

"Why not?" came Eric's instant question.

It was the same one going through the minds of the other three young adults left standing in the kitchen. Since when couldn't Red go to the store? Since when was Mrs. Forman not okay with sending him out for a few things?

"Because…" as her hands wrung together nervously, Kitty's worried eyes stared over at her husband. She felt like she had just let everything slip out…maybe it would just be better if she said something now—even if it did go against what Red wanted. "Because…"

"I'll go," Red's voice thundered.

The four heads turned to see Red rising from the seat he'd been resting in and heading to the coat rack to grab his jacket. It was getting darker which meant temperatures would be dropping, and the possibility of more snowfall, and the last thing he needed was to catch a cold that would allow his wife to try to baby him even more than she already was.

"Red…"

He ignored the sound of his name and gradually shrugged on his jacket, "It'll give me a break from you dumbasses."

"See, everybody wins!" Eric's grin was wide as he threw his hands up midway.

However, Kitty didn't feel like she'd won anything. "Red…"

"Kitty, I'll be fine," assured Red, jacket on and grabbing his set of keys of the counter. "It's just to the store to pick up a few things. I'll be back in hour tops."

Looking up and into his eyes, Kitty could tell her husband wanted to get away for a bit. It was probably overwhelming having everyone here and Michael and Fez nearly tackling him to the floor probably hadn't helped. In addition to that, Kitty knew today had been a difficult day for him at work, maybe he did deserve a little time to himself.

And maybe with him out of the house it would give Kitty the chance to give the kids a heads up on what she knew Red would avoid as much as possible.

"Okay, fine," she relented her shoulders dropping before she tried to put on a smile. "I'll just write you a quick list."

Red groaned as he watched his wife pull out a pad and pencil from one of the green drawers. "Kitty, I don't need a list."

"You take the list or you're not going, Red Forman," she threated, sharply closing the drawer back up and placing her right hand on her hip.

"Fine," grumbled Red.

"Good," Kitty smiled, at last genuinely. "And since you'll be there anyways there are a few other things you could pick up for me."

As an attempt to keep from rolling his eyes, Red shut his eyes, trying to decide who he felt more irritated with; his wife for adding more things to the list or himself for not thinking that she would do just that. He needed to get out of there before she sent him out to run even more errands.

"I'll be outside," he announced, eyes now open.

"Mr. Forman, wait!" Jackie unexpectedly called out making the older man halt just before he opened the sliding door. She felt three other pairs of eyes staring at her and she wished she had just followed him out of the kitchen. "Um, can I talk to you? _Privately_?"

"Privately?" he repeated and she nodded only to receive a solemn look in response. "No."

But Jackie was not taking 'no' for an answer, especially not with what she had to talk to him about. "Please? I won't take long, I promise."

"Alright, fine," Red grouchily agreed, holding the door open for the young woman. "You can help me clear the driveway."

Nodding her head Jackie hurried over where Mr. Forman was standing but not before grabbing her discarded coat off the kitchen chair. She slipped her arms through the sleeves and pulled her dark locks out from where they'd been tucked into the back of her coat as she stepped out onto the patio with Red following right behind her.

Eric, Hyde, and Donna all frowned while watching the exit of the unlikely pair.

Hyde had a pretty good guess of what Jackie wanted to speak to Red about but was surprised she'd actually done it. Donna meanwhile, was still confused by much of what had taken place over the past few minutes in The Forman kitchen. Even now as she saw Kitty searching through cupboards and writing down the missing items, something just felt…off.

"That was weird," she commented, unable to keep the thought to herself.

"Yeah," her boyfriend was still looking over at where his father and the she-devil had left through. "Since when does Jackie want to talk to Red privately?"

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you liked this chapter, sorry about sort of lacking with the JH interaction but it's coming! Next chapter we'll learn what Jackie wants to talk to Red about. We also will see Jackie confronting Hyde about something she finds out. There will be more stuff with the gang and some Red/Kitty fluff too!_

 _Oh and also! I'm working on a new fanfic, shorter than this one—more of the comedy take too—takes place *during* the series. I'm hoping to have it up sometime soon but if you all would like a little peek at it just let me know, I'd be happy to share! And don't worry this upcoming fanfic shouldn't put any big delays on this fanfic, I still have a few chapters written of this fic in advance to help keep me ahead of the game :D_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	9. Chapter 8: Why They Call it The Blues

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hi everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have for you a new chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" and I really hope you like it! Thank you so, so much for the wonderful and so incredible support you have given this story. All the alerts and favorites and reviews have really meant so much and do a lot to keep me motivated in writing things story, especially when I need it, thank you! *hug* Thank you for stopping to read, I hope you like it and if you have the chance, please do leave a review, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Even if you'd never reviewed before, don't be shy! Thank you again to all of you wonderful readers and reviewers who took the time to read and review the last chapter sorry I sent the sneakpeeks so late, first week back at work and so I've been a little busier than usual. Hope you all like this chapter there's lots of Jackie and interaction with her and two of the stories main characters :D Thank you for reading, please review if you can, thanks for all the amazing support, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

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"Might not be able to keep the lot of you out of my house but at least I can keep my driveway from becoming a damn parking lot," Red commented as he and Jackie strolled out toward the driveway where the lone orange Toyota was parked.

Red had known what he was doing when he got home from the shop and parked his car in the middle of the driveway.

With the car right smack in the center, it meant no other cars could try to squeeze in next to him or worse, behind him. When Eric and Donna had first arrived, Eric had parked the Vista Cruiser behind the foreign vehicle but mere minutes into their visit Red had ordered Eric to park the car elsewhere; he'd been aware of the incoming company Kitty had invited for the gather and didn't want to be trapped without some kind of emergency exit.

As she walked with him towards the driver's side of the car, Jackie could tell by his voice that Mr. Forman was proud of himself but she wasn't quite sure why. She hadn't really heard what he was saying and instead was trying to figure out the best way to bring up the situation she needed his help with.

Did she start with some small talk or just come right out with it? Would she even be able to explain and say the words out loud? Maybe she should have brought a pad and paper with her…

 _Clink!_

Breaking from her thoughts, Jackie noticed that Red had dropped his keys onto the cement driveway but the odd thing was that he made no motion to retrieve them—even though he appeared to be looking right at them.

Jackie watched his seemingly unmoving state with a frown. Maybe he was getting older than she thought and couldn't see where his keys had gone. Deciding she should do him a favor before she asked him for one, Jackie bent down and grabbed his car keys from the spot where they'd fallen by his feet.

"Thanks," his mutter was barely audible as he reached his right hand for the keys; however, one quick clearing of his throat and Red's voice was back to its strong gruff tenor. "So, what's your problem that you needed to talk to me about?"

"Well, it's not really a problem with me…it's more like a problem with my apartment," she started to say, realizing that it had to be her apartment's fault for letting the little tenant into her place. Jackie pressed on, hoping the older man would understand her dilemma without her having to actually say the M-word. "You see I have something there that I don't want in there and I'm having trouble getting it out of my home."

"Join the club," muttered Red.

Quickly the brunette shook her head, "But Mr. Forman, my problem isn't a group of people like yours is. It's more like…an infestation!"

Red looked up from the car door her was unlocking to give Jackie a look, eyebrows raised up seeming to asked, _'What do you think I've been dealing with all these years?'_

A heavy sigh left Jackie's lips when she saw his expression. Was he really going to make her say it? And what's worse, was he comparing her and her friends to a couple of mice? Jackie Burkhart was no mouse!

"It's a pest!" her voice was loud and un-mousy.

Pulling open the car door, Red frowned at Jackie. "If it's the foreign kid you can forget it," he declared, a shaking raised palm lifted in front of him. "I'm not helping you keep him out of your place because the more he's over at your home the less he's here at mine."

"It's not Fez, Mr. Forman," she sounded sadder; she was gonna have to say it out loud. "It's…it's…"

"It's a mouse," the older man finished for her.

Jackie's apprehension suddenly turned into amazement, "How'd you know?"

Though she'd asked the question, Jackie really wasn't too concerned with finding out the answer. She was just relieved that he had figured it out without her having to say the words of the actual problem. It was like Mr. Forman had read her mind, they were so in tune with each other. This had to be why she was his favorite.

"Steven told me," Red replied, nixing the telepathic theory Jackie had begun thinking.

With her hands down at her sides, Jackie clenched her fists so tightly she could feel her freshly painted nails digging into her palms, "Steven told you?"

"Yeah," nodded Red, his eyes averted downwards and his right hand joined his left in the opposite pocket of his jacket before he looked back at Jackie, a new frown on his face. "And he was supposed to pass on this message to you but since you're here, I'll tell you myself."

The young woman stared back expectantly; trying to keep her anger in tact until she saw the man who deserved to face it.

"I'll stop by your apartment Saturday to check it out," he caught his slip up the moment it happened. "Crap, I mean Sunday. I'll be there Sunday."

Relief filled Jackie once again and she threw her arms around Red, not surprised—or at all bothered—when he didn't make any effort to hug her back.

"Oh thank you, Mr. Forman!" She gushed and when felt a stirring push from the hands Red had trapped in his pockets, Jackie knew it was her signal to end her hug. "And you really think you can…help me with my problem?"

"Got rid of those damn squirrels that kept coming up in our yard, didn't I?" Red's smug smirk answered his own question.

A smile grew even further on Jackie's lips, "Thank you, Mr. Forman for helping me with this…little problem. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take care of a rat problem."

Just as Jackie marched her way back into the Forman kitchen, Kitty was walking outside to the driveway with a single sheet of yellow paper. The older woman gave a small smile to the passing girl but Jackie walked right past it. Her mind was set on her mission and there was no stopping her.

Luckily, Kitty didn't seem to mind being unnoticed since she too had her own task to worry about.

"Okay Red, here's the list. It's just a few little things we need," she explained, approaching her husband and handing him the paper; however, when Red made no move to take the list her stomach twisted. "Are you sure you feel up to going?"

"Kitty, I feel fine," Red argued but even his gruff delivery did little to ease Kitty's mind.

She pulled her thin sweater tighter around her. "You know, maybe I should go with you."

Red scowled when he heard the suggestion. "Kitty, we can't leave these dumbasses alone in our home, they'd burn the place down."

"But…"

"It's just a quick trip to the market, Kitty," he reminded in a tone of voice that was firm and yet still soft—he knew he couldn't blame her too much for how she felt. "You don't have to worry about me so much."

"Well it's not just you that I worry about," Kitty argued though meekly. "The roads are icy and they're calling for more snow and you aren't the only one out there on the road, you know. There's other drivers…and animals. You could hit a deer or be hit _by_ a deer! I mean you just…you never know…"

His wife's overactive imagination made Red chuckle lightly, "Kitty, I'll be fine. I'm going to the store not off to war."

Finally, Red made his move to grab the list Kitty had written out for him. He took the sheet of paper out of her grasp and that's when she saw it.

"Red…"

Furrowing his brow, Red scanned over the listed items. "It's fine, Kitty."

Kitty shook her head; she was not arguing over this. "I'm going with you."

"I don't need a damn babysitter!" Red growled, his eyes off the paper and now boring back into his wife.

At first Kitty was startled, so much so all she could do was stare at him with wide eyes. It had been sometime since he'd raised her voice at him and the last time had been for a similar reason. And that's when Kitty realized Red was right. He didn't need a babysitter and it was important to allow him to remain independent while he still could be.

"Okay," her head nodded slowly. "Just…just promise you'll be careful?"

Red gazed into Kitty's pleading eyes looking back up at him. He was glad he'd finally gotten his message across to her but did feel more than a little guilty for raising his voice at her the way he had. "If you promise to stop worrying so much."

She pushed on a tight smile, "I'll try."

"That's my girl," Red grinned back at her.

It took everything Kitty had to keep her smile in place when Red placed his hands on her shoulders then stooped down to press his lips to her forehead before he climbed into the driver's seat of the Toyota.

0o0o0o

Down in the basement on the old TV set played another old rerun of _Three's_ _Company_ while Hyde sat in the plastic chair with his arms crossed over his chest, Eric and Donna cuddled on the sofa, and Brooke sat nearby as she flipped through an old forgotten magazine. Kelso and Betsy were behind the old couch, searching for a board game to play—Fez had been helping them until he found some old candy he'd somehow left behind and was currently consuming the lost treasure.

It felt just like old times!

Even the angry footsteps bounding down the wooden staircase rang just as familiar as the catchy _Three's_ _Company_ theme song. However back in seventies the stomps were louder, heavier even…these sounded lighter and had more of a click-clack sound to them.

"Steven," a feminine voice shouted instead of Red's usual booming one, causing everyone to turn their heads and see Jackie standing, hands on hips, at the bottom of the stairway. "How could you tell everyone that I have a mouse in my apartment?!"

When his eyebrows lifted in surprise under his shades, she responded by arching one of her own. Acting surprised was not going to help him, she wanted answers _now_. Jackie's fiery eyes were zoned in on Hyde, she never saw the eyes widen and jaws drop around her but she certainly heard some of the shock filled exclamations.

"What?!"

Eric had on the biggest grin, "You have a mouse?"

"No way!"

"Lucky!" Kelso's shout held more envy than shock.

Jackie's own eyes began to grow big as she gradually looked around the room at the waiting eyes on her. She couldn't speak, she was too startled, humiliated, and most of all terrified. Had she just made her biggest fear come true herself?

"I didn't," Hyde spoke with a smirk that was much too happy, dancing on his lips. "But you just did."

"Ugh!" Jackie cried in distraught, her hands came flying off her hips and up to cover her face as she dropped herself onto the old duct taped arm of the sofa.

"Jackie," Donna felt bad for her friend but at the same time couldn't help but feel curious too. "Do you really have a mouse in your apartment?"

Slowly the raven haired beauty peeked out a sad left eye, "No…" her hand muffled behind her palms.

"Yes, she does," confirmed Fez, throwing Jackie's claim out of the water. "His name is Mighty."

"Fez!" hissed Jackie, ripping her hands off her face.

The foreigner did not see his mistake, "What? You would not give him a name, so I gave him one."

With his brow furrowed, Kelso and Betsy joined the others at the sofa. "So his name is Mighty the Mouse?"

"No," Fez sounded a little too serious in his reply. "He has no middle name."

Hyde turned his head to look at Jackie again and despite—or was it because of—the embarrassed state she remained in, he looked over at Fez; an amused little smirk growing on his lips. "Huh, just _Mighty_ _Mouse_?"

"Yes, _Mighty_ _Mouse_. Mighty Mouse…" it was until he said the name a second time that it dawned on the foreigner, why the name had sounded so familiar. "Oohh _Mighty_ _Mouse_!"

"Man that's awesome!" Kelso was grinning with wonder from where he was perched on the back of the old sofa.

However, not everyone had joined in on the conversation of Jackie's new little friend. One person in particular was having an enormously difficult time adding something to the topic…better yet, an enormously difficult time deciding what to add to the topic.

"Too…many…burns…" Eric strained, both his hand holding the sides of his head like had a headache. "They're all coming in at once…I can't pick one but…Must burn…Jackie…"

Eric's 'struggle' was found to be quite amusing to the guys who laughed and bobbed their heads in agreement, but the girls in the room didn't share their sense of humor.

Sharp daggers were glared from Jackie's brown eyes and straight to the former twig of a man, she could just smack him! And then, as if she'd read her best friend's mind, Donna angrily shoved Eric shoulder. While thankful, Jackie also wondered why the redhead hadn't used her lumberjack strength to shove Eric even harder. That thought soon turned into the idea of seeing if Donna would kick Steven's butt for her.

"Is it…is it just the one mouse?" Brooke asked cautiously.

Jackie's glare diminished. Maybe she could say that they _thought_ a mouse had been seen but nothing was official yet? It was risky since Hyde and Fez had been there when the furball made his appearance, but it was worth a try. She smiled and opened her mouth to start her explanation.

"Yes," Fez was once again acting like her publicist and answering all questions directed at her. Nostril's flared a bit as she thought up her plan on how to "thank" Fez for being so generously helpful.

"But he is an evil mastermind…not like the real _Mighty_ _Mouse_ ," continued Fez. "He has the strength of many…like the real _Mighty_ _Mouse_ though. He is fast and has dark evil eyes with sharp teeth…" Fez animatedly gave more feature of the creature until he suddenly stopped, having gone too into depth and scaring himself. "Aye, no…"

"Dibs!" Kelso's arm shot up in the air.

Brooke whipped her head to stare at him, "Michael, why are you calling dibs?"

"Oh, cuz that's what you say when you want something," Kelso explained, genuinely thinking his girlfriend didn't know the meaning of 'dibs,' She was an only child who didn't have to share or fight over anything; she probably got everything she wanted.

Shaking her head, Brooke was not smiling. "I know what 'dibs' means Michael. Why are you calling dibs on a mouse?"

"Cuz I want Jackie's mouse," Ignoring Jackie groan Kelso scoffed at the others in a _'Can you believe this?'_ kind of way; he looked back at Brooke, "Are you sure you know what 'dibs' means?"

" _Honey_ , why do you want the mouse?"

"For a pet for me. And Betsy," he tacked on the last two words, making his little girl smile brightly.

"Michael, a mouse isn't the right pet for Betsy. Or for you." Brooke was once again moving her head from side to side and with every twist of her neck Kelso's grin drooped a little lower. "A better bet would be something like…like a dog or…"

"A dog?" Kelso suddenly got a second wind. "We can get a dog?!"

The outfaced palm went unnoticed, "I didn't say…"

"Baby, you're the greatest!" he smacked a kiss on Brooke's cheek before swooping his gleeful daughter in his arms. "Betsy, we're getting a puppy!"

While father and daughter cheered and happily high-fived each other, Brooke silently watched the celebration while her mind revved with thoughts that tried to trace back the exact moment she'd lost control of the conversation and agreed to get a dog.

"Well Steven, I hope you're happy," Jackie suddenly spoke up, her arms crossed over her chest. "Now everyone knows about my situation and Brooke is gonna be stuck picking up dog poop, all thanks to you."

There was just a slight indent on Hyde's forehead, "Me? You're the one who told 'em."

"Only because I thought you had," reminded Jackie with a pointed index finger.

"Look," Eric spoke up with he started to feel the unwanted tension between the former lovers. "You're making this into a bigger deal than it really is, Princess Cinderella."

When the use of the Disney character's name didn't cause the uproar of laughter he was expecting, Eric looked around the room to make sure they had heard him. The expressions on everyone's faces seemed to show that they had heard his words but didn't quite understand or approve of them.

"You know…" he started to explain, smiling in hopes that they'd mirror him. "Cuz of the mice!"

No one appeared very impressed.

"Already used that one, man," Hyde was quite pleased to inform.

"Oh come on!" Eric exclaimed, disappointed in himself for picking out—from all the others he'd come up with—a burn that had been done before.

Ignoring her boyfriend outburst, Donna turned to her best friend. "Eric's right, Jackie. Having a mouse at your place isn't that big of a deal."

"Maybe not for you, Donna. You actually like gross little things, I mean look at who you're dating!" Jackie gestured at Eric who was not happy about being burned by the person he'd just previously failed to burn. "But for me, this is a very big deal."

"Ironic, since you know, the thing is actually really small," Eric's quip only got crickets, upsetting the young man all over again. "Oh come on, this is funny stuff people!"

Jackie wasn't paying any attention to Eric or his attempts to burn her, she just glared at her ex-boyfriend. He could try to blame this on her all he wanted, and in truth maybe she shared a small sliver of fault, but none of this chaos in the basement would have happened if it weren't for him.

"I told you not to tell anyone," she reminded, teeth gritted.

She may have been fuming but Hyde kept his cool. "I didn't tell anyone."

"You told Mr. Forman," Jackie declared, shooting out her seat as she did so. "And even though he falls under the category of old people, _he's still people_!"

Hyde shifted in his seat, arms defensively remaining folded over his chest; he didn't feel like he owed Jackie any explanation but knew she wouldn't shut her trap until he gave her one. "Look man, the only reason I told Red and Mrs. Forman…"

"Mrs. Forman knows?!"

Based off the brunette's tone, Hyde figured she hadn't learned that details just yet. "She was there when I told Red," he explained though he didn't get why Jackie was so surprised or upset, The Formans were pretty much one person. If Kitty hadn't been there when he told Red, she would've learned about Mighty Mouse sooner or later.

"But listen," he continued, his voice becoming serious and perhaps even sincere. "The only reason I went and told Red was cuz I know your stupid vanity and pride would keep you from telling him or anyone else about the rodent. Then you'd end up getting me to help you take care of it." He grumbled, keeping to himself the worst case scenario where she took matters into her own hands and ended up putting herself in harm's way with an apartment full of toxic fumes and rat poison.

"Well that just shows how well you know me, because the only reason I know that you told Mr. Forman is because he told me after _I_ told him about it." It was like Jackie's chin rose more and more with each word she spoke.

He'd be lying if Hyde said the statement hadn't shocked him; of course, that didn't mean he had to show his shock. "Guess I misjudged you."

"Yeah," Jackie agreed before muttering, "And it wouldn't be the first time."

"What's you say?" he asked, frowning and looking right at Jackie.

She pretended like she was surprised and hiding a secret, "Nothing."

"Fine," said Hyde. If she wanted to play these dumb games she could play them by herself, he wanted no part of them and so her reverted to what he did whenever he didn't want to be part of something, "Whatever."

His Zen reply made Jackie's eyes grow bigger; how dare he try to Zen her out! "Oh no, no, no, no. No, Steven, you don't get to be the 'whatever' me in this situation. I get to 'whatever' you!" Then she realized how un-zen she was acting and toned it down as she sat herself on the lawn chair across from Hyde; copying his stance with both arms crossed over the chest and gaze fixed on the TV set.

"Whatever," Hyde replied like he hadn't been watching her.

The gang's eyes volleyed from Hyde to Jackie, staying on her waiting for her next move, but remembered her Zen teaching and ignored them too.

All she said was, "Whatever."

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 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little of both? Lemme know in a review!_

 _I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, told you things were gonna start picking up a little faster—and this is just the start of it. In the next chapter we will see how Hyde and Jackie are doing with their Zen showdown. We'll also see how Red's trip to the store is going, if there really was cause for so much worry from Kitty. And will Kitty take the time to tell the kids what's going on with Red while he's out of the house?_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	10. Chapter 9: Over My Head

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! I'm very sorry about the slight delay in getting this next chapter up, I got busy and side tracked with starting work again. The good news is today I have for you the new chapter! I hope you all enjoy it! It may seem like a filler chapter and it kinda is but I'd much rather call it a set up chapter, maybe? Thank you all for the incredible support and encouragement you've given this story it really does mean so much, your reviews and kind words always bring such a smile to my face, thank you! I really am so glad that you're enjoying the story! Thank you so much for stopping by to read, if you have the chance to review please do, even if you haven't reviewed any of the other chapters. It's okay! I'd love to hear from you! Thank you to all of you who have also added the story to your alerts or favorites and a very big thank you to you readers who have added them and also reviewed too. Thank you! Hope you like, thanks for reading, hope you like, please review, thanks for all the support, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

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The basement had fallen into silence. It wasn't the warm, no words needed kind of silence either, it was the kind that was tense, uncomfortable, the kind where people wanted to talk but didn't know what to say; and it was all because of the Zen-Off going on between the two people who currently sat on opposite ends of the room.

Hyde in his plastic seat, Jackie on the lawn chair, and everyone else stuck literally in the middle squeezed together onto the beat up old sofa.

At first they had tried to end this little showdown by trying to engage Jackie or Hyde in conversation but that had not gone well. If anything it gave the two a different category to try out-Zen the other in. Each gave responses that were one word or less. Donna had even tried so much as talking to Jackie about shoes but all she got in response was an aloof, 'Cool.'

When it became obvious that neither Hyde nor Jackie were interested in talking, the remaining group had tried to carry on without them but that was easier said than done.

Sitting silently without either of the two saying anything too other, the pair were hard to ignore. It could be in a middle of a conversation or game and someone would look over their shoulder to check on the silent two, making sure neither one of them had disintegrated into a pile of angry dust…but they were probably too stubborn to even do that.

Jackie was sure that Hyde was just waiting for her to crack and Hyde knew Jackie was waiting for him to cave; however, neither was ready to give the other the satisfaction. Both were positive they could out-Zen the other. Hyde had mastered the art of Zen long ago but Jackie had been taught Zen by the master himself and had seen a lot of it firsthand when they were dating. She was planning on putting all of what she'd seen, all that had annoyed and even sometimes even hurt her, into very good use now.

About an hour into the Zen showdown, the others found themselves all seated together on the old couch and pretended to watch some of the mystery dramas playing in primetime. None were as riveting as the show happening before them. Perhaps because at the end of the dramedy program things would work out just fine and dandy for the main characters but when this Zen faceoff between Jackie and Hyde ended—if it ever ended—there was no guarantee of any kind of happy ending.

Currently the TV set played the local news but the focus remained on Hyde and Jackie. The only person who seemed bored with the whole ordeal was young Betsy who had fallen asleep in her mother's arms several minutes ago.

Hyde and Jackie just sat there ignoring the others and more importantly each other. On the outside they looked cool and collected but inside, their friends worried that the pair had been simmering too long and would both be reaching their boiling points causing them explode all over the place.

"Aye! Do something already!" shouted Fez, no longer able to take the suspense.

The Zen pair remained unfazed, starring ahead at the screen on the television.

"You know," Donna felt less and less anxious and much more agitated with the behavior of these two. "I never thought I'd say this but I think I liked it better when you two were fighting."

Eric nodded beside her, "Things definitely made more sense before the start of your creepy and unnatural relationship."

"I liked it better when they were kissing," Fez spoke up, his smile earning him a few odd looks. "Their kisses were not only filled with great passion but also great love. When they kissed it was more than just a kiss. It was like they were breathing each other in, needing the other in order to survive."

All eyes and crumpled brows were focused on the foreigner, including Jackie and Hyde's.

He shrugged, not embarrassed by his observations, "It made them very sexy."

Most of the furrowed brows sunk and scrunched up with even more with disgust, some at the idea of Hyde and Jackie kissing being sexy and some at the thought of Fez having watched them kiss and thinking it was sexy. Hyde even considered putting a pause on his Zen so he could frog the guy on the arm, but their policeman friend spoke up and saved Fez from the hit.

"Yeah, well, I'm with Eric. I liked it better when they were fighting, back before they even got together in the first place." Kelso relaxed against the back of the sofa, recalling the memories with a grin. "Cuz, that meant me and Jackie were the ones makin' out."

Brooke kept her temper in check only because of the little girl nestled in her arms, "Excuse me?"

"What? It was…like way before I met you," he tried to justify. "And Jackie's a good kisser…but you are too! Guys, help me out here."

"Oh yes, Jackie is a very good kisser," Fez was eager to agree, happy to remind them that he had kissed Jackie before.

Kelso looked over at Jackie's other ex-boyfriend, "Hyde?"

When Jackie heard Michael call to Steven she shyly peeked at him from the corner of her eye, curious to see what kind of response he'd give. Only Hyde didn't give much of any kind of reply. He was still left with the uneasy feeling from the memory of Jackie and Fez briefly being a couple; all he could manage was a grunt.

"Eric?"

"Sorry man, afraid I can't help you with that one," Eric didn't sound too sincere in his apology. "Since I've never had to endure a kiss from the devil herself."

Eric laughed at his words but was only one who found them funny. Jackie was sending up a clearly very annoyed look but it was the way Donna had lifted a questioning eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest that made Eric's chuckle fade off.

"What's that supposed to mean?" his girlfriend wanted to know.

His eyes shifted around the room; now he was the one looking for aid. "It means I've never kissed Jackie."

Donna rolled her eyes, "I'm not talking about what you said, I'm talking about _how_ you said it."

"Uh," Eric still wasn't getting it. "In English?"

"Your tone, you dillhole!"

Now Eric was really confused. He thought Donna had been upset that he'd referred to her best friend as the devil or maybe she'd even thought that she was lying about him never kissing Jackie; but she was upset about his tone? Was that even a thing? It certainly wasn't a thing Donna would normally be so upset about.

"I'm sorry, my…my tone?"

Those were the last clear words that were heard before the silent basement suddenly filled with a great chaos of noise. A majority of that noise was coming from arguments happening between couples.

Donna and Eric were fighting over his tone of voice and whether or not it meant anything that was worth fighting over. Brooke and Kelso argued about him talking about kissing other girls and how they were good kissers in front of their daughter—who Kelso promptly pointed out was asleep. Even Jackie and Hyde were still participating in their own quarrel, theirs wasn't as loud as the other pairs' but it was just as angry. Fez was the odd man out but tried to join in by playing a very bad referee wherever he could.

With the basement and its occupants now consumed by flared tempers and buzzing arguments no one noticed the entrance of the person descending the stairs.

"Eric, honey," Kitty eyed the room.

But Kitty's voice was nearly lost in the raised voices of the others in the room. Hyde had been the only one to hear her, mostly due to the fact that she was standing closer to where he was when she called for Eric.

Hyde looked up at Mrs. Forman and was ready to make a comment about Eric being busy getting his man-card revoked but he quickly decided against it when he saw her. She was nervous about something, Hyde could tell. Her hands were wringing together; her eyes were darting around the room but it was like she hadn't even noticed the battle scene taking place in her basement. And the most telling sign was her missing smile.

"Hey," Hyde rose his voice trying to get his friend's attention. "Forman, man."

"What?" Frowning Eric turned his head till he saw his mother. "Oh, hey mom."

Kitty still wasn't making eye contact. "Eric, has your father been down here?"

Eric could also sense something was off and he stole a quick look at his adopted brother before turning back at their mom. "Uh…no, Mom. I haven't seen him since he took off for the store."

By this time the room had quieted down and Eric glanced at the others to see if they'd spotted or heard Red but only received some shaking heads.

"Oh. Okay," Kitty nodded and smiled but it didn't look like the answer had brought her any comfort at all. "Well, you kids go back to your fighting."

When they saw her start to step away from the group the couples slowly went back to their heated discussions but kept their voices at a softer volume than before. However, Jackie watched as Hyde kept his gaze on Mrs. Forman watching her carefully then standing up to follow her.

"Mrs. Forman, everything okay?"

"Huh?" Kitty shook her head from wherever her mind had wandered to and realized Steven was asking her a question that could have only been brought on because of her overreacting. Swiftly, she pressed on a fresh smile. "Oh, yes. Yes, everything is just…just fine!"

Her voice leaked with false cheeriness and if that wasn't bad enough it was soon followed by a very forced, very fake laugh. Kitty really didn't want her kids to worry but the look that her adopted son was giving her told Kitty that she couldn't keep this to herself much longer and if she did it might cause more trouble.

Kitty's shoulders drooped and her smile disappeared. "I'm," pausing she took a breath, "I'm just worried about Red," she admitted, the room around her growing still again. "It's been almost two and a half hours and he still hasn't come back home."

"No offense, Mrs. Forman, but with all of us here, don't think Red was any rush to get back here," Hyde commented; he could tell the woman was worried so he made a lame try to make her smile—the way she did with him.

Based off the faint, but genuine, laugh Kitty gave it seemed like the attempt had worked a tiny bit.

"Yeah, maybe he stopped at a bar or over at my dad's apartment," Donna offered but a frown formed on her forehead before she even saw the other scowls being sent in her direction. "I heard it."

Since Donna attempt hadn't gone too well, Brooke spoke up with her own suggestion of Red's whereabouts. "Maybe he went back to his muffler shop?"

"Maybe," Kitty started to agree but shook her head before she could give the muffler shop another thought; Red wouldn't be there. "No, no. Red would've come home," she insisted. "He should've been home by now. And, and now it's getting darker and there's more snow and the roads are all icy…"

"Mom, mom," Eric was on his feet, walking towards his rambling mother until he could place a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you want us to go out there and look for Dad?"

Instantly Kitty looked up at her son. Her eyes had gone wide and for the briefest of moments Eric was sure that the worry in his mother's eyes had disappeared.

"No, no," she shook her head and smiled weakly. "Honey, it's a very sweet offer but the last thing I need is all of you out there on those slippery roads." Again Kitty's head shook, of course she was worried about her husband but she wasn't about to send her children out on those dangerous roads; she needed to calm down, she could tell she was making the rest of them nervous and maybe even a little suspicious. "I'm sure I'm just being overly paranoid."

Hyde and Eric watched their mother flash them an assuring smile before they simultaneously turned to each other and nodded.

"Let's go."

Kitty was so shocked she was stuck standing in place while the boys grabbed their coats. She finally managed to find her voice at the same time that she recovered the use of her legs and used them to march over to the back of the sofa.

"No, no, no. I said no," she sternly told the two of them.

"Mom, we wanna do this," Eric said in a soft sincere voice. Sure he hadn't wanted to go to the store earlier but his mom was a lot more worried about finding his dad than she had been about getting pork chops from the store. "I'm sure Dad's fine. We'll find him, tell him to get back home, and then you can stop worrying."

Her face softened into another nervous expression. "You'll be careful won't you?"

"Extra careful," answered Hyde while Eric nodded beside him.

"Okay," Kitty drew in a shaky breath. She smiled at her boys hoping the tears she felt sting her eyes weren't yet visible. "Thank you."

"I'm going too," announced Donna, getting up to grab her own nearby coat then putting it on in record time. Before anyone could try to stop her, she made it clear she wasn't planning on sticking around here by asking for information on where to begin the search. "Where did Mr. Forman say he was gonna pick up the pork-chops and stuff?"

The faint smile on Kitty's lips fell as the realization hit her. "He didn't say."

"Well," the word was drawn out by Eric as he looked at Hyde for a plan. "That's not good."

"Wait!" an urgent voice shouted out loud. "There are only two places that sell pork chops. The Piggly Wiggly and Jim's Meat Market."

Everyone had a frown or scowl wrinkled on their foreheads when they heard the statement. It wasn't that the information wasn't good or helpful, because it really was; the surprising, slightly confusing part was the source of where the information had come from.

Jackie glared back at the frowns. "What? I can't know where you buy pork chops?"

"Actually, I'm surprised you even know what a pork chop is," Eric pipped up making Jackie snarl in return.

"Okay, then we'll split up," Donna took charge in a very Fred Jones like fashion. "Eric and I will check one place and Hyde you drive over to the other."

"Oh, oh and the backroads!" added in Kitty, her voice sounded like a cross between urgency and anxiousness.

With Point Place being such a small town there were plenty of backroads that would get a person to where they needed to go without having to deal with too many traffic lights or traffic in general. Less cars on them didn't exactly make the backroads any less dangerous than the bigger roads. They were narrow, dark, often uneven and not well maintained, they were probably more dangerous than the main roads. But for Red Forman less people often weighed out more dangerous.

"Oh, right…"

Donna looked disappointed that her plan didn't look like it was going to work. They now had three places to search and even though the search party was made up of three people, they only had two cars.

As Eric tried to ease his mother's worries by rubbing her upper arm and giving her a small smile, Donna was trying to figure out a solution to their problem but Hyde already had a Plan B in mind—and he was more than ready to start putting it into action.

"Alright, Forman, you and Donna go to The Pig. Kelso can check out the road on the way to the meat market," he barked out orders without even clearing them with the seated Kettlehead. "And I'll check out the backroads."

Like his mom and Hyde, and the rest of the town, Eric knew the dangers of driving the backroads at night. He didn't want Hyde taking them, especially if he was alone; Donna was going with him so Eric thought it would be better if they checked those roads. Besides, this was his dad they were looking for.

"Hyde, man, maybe me and Donna should take the backroads," Eric wasn't stubborn enough to make the words sound like anything but a suggestion.

Hyde on the other hand could be just as stubborn as the man they were looking for. "Forman, man," he started, his tone already saying that he wasn't switching. "Whose wheels do you think can handle those roads better at this time of night? The Cruiser or my Camino?"

"Hey! The Vista Cruiser is…" Eric was prepared to defend his beloved Batmoblie but his speech was swiftly cut off.

"We'll check The Piggly Wiggly," declared Donna, already grabbing her boyfriend's arm and lightly yanking him towards the side door. "Eric, come on."

Eric looked from the persistent expression on his girlfriend's face to the worried one that his mother wore, they both reminded of what was really important at this time. And it had nothing to do with whose car was better.

"Fine," he relented allowing Donna to pull him closer towards the exit but not before he shot out his index finger at Hyde. "But just for the record, the Vista Cruiser could totally kick the ass of your car…truck…no one even knows what that things is!"

A smirk formed on Hyde's lips and it grew when his redheaded friend made one hard yank on Eric's arm causing him to nearly stumble backwards and out the basement door.

With one team already out the door, Hyde worked on getting the rest of them out there; after all, the sooner they went out and found Red, the sooner Mrs. Forman could stop worrying. He patted Kelso's shoulder as he past him while walking behind the sofa.

"Come on, Kelso, man. Let's go."

But Kelso remained seated between his girlfriend and his buddy Fez, never budging an inch. Fez and Kelso both sat with their arms crossed, staring intensely at the TV screen in front of them. One might have thought they were trying to have their own Zen off with the set, because of how much their statures looked like the ones Jackie and Hyde had been in during their stare off; but the reality was they were just pretending not to have heard anything.

"Honey," Brooke lightly elbowed his arm that was closest to her. "I think you should get going."

Like a toddler who'd been told it was time to go to bed, Kelso dropped his head back and practically threw his hands onto his lap. "But I don't wanna look for Red."

"Michael, that's not a very nice thing to say," Jackie scolded her ex-boyfriend the moment she caught the hurt look on Mrs. Forman's face.

"Well Red's not very nice either," fired back Kelso.

"It's true," Fez unsurprisingly agreed with his man-pretty friend. "He was even grumpier than usual."

Kelso never even glanced over at Kitty, he was just happy to have someone who saw things his way. "Yeah! And he blamed me for him almost falling!"

It took a great amount of willpower for Hyde not to reach out and punch the moron. "You pushed him, man."

"I barely touched him!" Kelso insisted once more.

"I'd really appreciate it, boys."

Hearing these words come from Kitty, Kelso and Fez looked over in the woman's direction and saw the sad little smile she was giving them. Mrs. Forman had always been there when they needed her, with advice or yummy baked goods. The two saw her as a second mother to them both…well, maybe not mother but more like a hot older aunt who had married their grumpy bald uncle. And even though they didn't want to go look for their 'uncle' they knew they had to for Mrs. Forman.

"Okay, fine."

"Only for you Miss. Kitty."

Kitty smile grew watching the boys rise from their seats. "Thank you, boys."

"Maybe we'll get a prize if we find Red," Kelso tried to look for a silver lining, exciting Fez in the process.

The idea amused Hyde, "The two of you end up finding Red 'll probably win you a foot in the ass from the man himself."

Fez's hopeful grin became heavy with disappointment. "That does not sound like a very good prize, Hyde."

A smirk and a shrug was the only response Hyde gave. However, the not so promising prize didn't make Fez or Kelso change their minds and they continued their way out of the basement.

"We'll stay here with Mrs. Forman," Brooke called out to Kelso.

It wasn't so much because she didn't want to wake their daughter but more because she really felt that someone should stay here with Kitty to keep her from worrying too much.

Kelso nodded, "Okay."

"Be careful," Brooke reminded after receiving a quick peck on the lips.

With Kelso and Fez climbing up the basement's staircase, that left Jackie and Hyde as the only remaining original members of the basement group. They looked at each other, the moment they realized it was only the two of them left, before they looked away after maintaining eye contact for all of a split second.

Jackie had planned on offering to stay and keep Mrs. Forman company but with Brooke already doing that, it seemed pointless and sort of selfish to offer it now when she could be out helping look for Red. She didn't have any problem with going out to look for Mr. Forman, she was sure someone would find him, but she knew that a problem could easily arise. Keeping this in mind Jackie tried to think of a plan before Mrs. Forman started pairing her and Steven up like they were boarding Noah's Ark.

"Well, I've got my car," Jackie casually slipped in as she got up from her seat. "So I can go check the muffler shop just in case."

"No, oh no, Jackie don't be silly. I don't want you driving out there this late on your own." Kitty's said, she'd already let Red go out on his own and regretted it, she wasn't letting it happen again. "Besides, Red wouldn't go back to the shop, not-not after today."

"Oh," a look of disappointment appeared on Jackie's face but it wasn't for the reason Kitty thought.

Hyde should have made his exit while the conversation was going on. If he'd left, Mrs. Forman couldn't tell him to take Jackie with him. He was mere inches away from the back exit, he should have left; but he didn't. Instead his steps stopped when his attention was pulled back into the room by something Mrs. Forman had said and especially the way she's said it.

Frowning, Hyde prepared to ask her about it but was soon cut off.

"I know! Why don't you go with Steven?" Kitty came up with that suggestion suspiciously quick.

He really should have left when he had the chance.

Wide eyed both Hyde and Jackie looked at each other, this time keeping eye contact—if only to see which one of them could get them out of this mess.

"Uh…"

"Actually…"

"I don't see any reason why not," Kitty ignored how stumped the two appeared to be and Brooke was biting her lip to keep from smiling. "Can you?"

The older woman's words and the expression on her face made seem like she was challenging the pair and that shook Hyde and Jackie even more.

"Well…"

"Good," Kitty bright smile had somehow found its way back to her lips. "Now neither one of you will have to drive alone. Didn't that work out nicely?"

Unlike Mrs. Forman who seemed to very proud of herself, Jackie nor Hyde looked at all happy.

Jackie held in the urge to roll her eyes, "Yeah, real nice."

Hyde's mind had traveled back to the conversation he'd had in the kitchen earlier with Red and Mrs. Forman. The one where she and Red tried to get him to go back to Jackie's apartment and tell her Red's response to her mouse problem. The one where they, especially Mrs. Forman, insisted that he'd been happy with Jackie and gone on about wanting to see him happy again…

She wouldn't…she hadn't…would she?

"Pretty convenient too," Hyde stated, eyeing his smiling surrogate mother.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you all liked the chapter and didn't think it was too much of a filler. Don't really have too much to say about this chapter, I'm just hoping that you guys didn't dislike it too much._

 _Next chapter we'll see Hyde and Jackie out looking for Red, some memories and emotions from the past will be rediscovered, and we'll find out what's taken Red so long to get back home._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	11. Chapter 10: Fire and Rain

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! I am so, so, so very sorry that I took so long to update this story. I really didn't mean to but real life got in the way with work and sleep schedules and some other online didn't help much either. But I'm here now and I hope you all are still interested in the story, there's loads more ahead and I'm ready to go back to more regular updates if you all are! The chapter will hopefully makeup for the long wait, at least I hope it will! Thank you for all of the incredible support, it really means so much, all the kind reviews have made me smile so much and adding the story to your favorites and alerts is so very sweet. Please don't be shy to review now too, I'd love to hear your thoughts even if you've never reviewed before, don't be shy! Thank you again for the support, so very sorry for the late update, I will try my best not to let that happen again! Thanks for stopping by to read, please review if you can, I'd love to hear your thoughts, hope you like, and please, Enjoy!_

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"We're supposed to be lookin' for Red," Hyde reminded when from the corner of his eye he spotted his passenger reaching out for the dial of the Camino's radio.

"I know," she replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder when she turned to look at him. "Steven, turning the radio on isn't going to make us see any worse."

Before Hyde could argue that turning on some tunes wouldn't make them see any better, Jackie was already tuning the knobs and looking for a station. Some notes and lyrics from various songs broke through constant white noise static, however, it was hard to guess the song title or band with the quick fingered brunette at the controls.

Then a familiar strum of the guitar filled the small vehicle.

Hyde recognized the song instantly and when Jackie didn't switch over to next station he guessed she must have recognized it too.

A smirk started to creep onto his lips as he eased back into his seat. Listening to Led Zeppelin always managed to make Hyde feel better and calm him down; the tunes were familiar and comforting. They were something he definitely needed to hear at the moment, because even if he wasn't willing to admit it out loud, Hyde was more than a little worried about the sudden disappearance of his surrogate father.

Part of him wondered if Jackie knew the worry he hid inside himself. He wouldn't doubt if she did, she could always read him, sometimes even reading past his Zen. Hyde soon drew to the conclusion that Jackie understood how worried he felt about Red and had remembered the way Zeppelin comforted him, that she must have left it on the song for him. His smirk grew a little more and he turned to Jackie just as Robert Plant's vocals became lost in static.

Instantly Hyde scowled, looking at the radio and thinking it had somehow lost signal but then he saw Jackie.

Her hand was back on the dial and she looked at him with a not so innocent look in her wide brown eyes.

"Oops," her tone was as fake as the blonde hair Donna had once adorned. "Were you listening to that?"

He just scowled back at her, watching her tune and turn the nobs until a bubbly pop-y tune pierced through his eardrums. Jackie never noticed his wincing, having been way too excited about her discovery.

"Oh my God! I haven't heard this song in forever," she said before closing her eyes, swinging her head and mouthing along to The Monkee's (or whoever the heck they were) as they sang not to pull your love out.

Hyde watched her sitting there so carefree and happy. He knew it had been a pretty rough day for her with Mighty Mouse making his appearance and all, she deserved a break; but she'd done it to him. And worse than that, she turned off Led Zeppelin. Mid-song! Zeppelin, man! That thought alone had Hyde reaching over and snapping the radio off completely.

Jackie's eyes flew open as soon as her music stopped. "Hey!"

"Oops," Hyde mimicked her words. "Were you listening to that?"

She crossed her arms over her chest before throwing herself back against the passenger seat.

"Ugh! Mr. Forman obviously isn't out here. He's probably hiding out in his garage from everyone," Jackie waved her hand as if Red's whereabouts were as simple as her explanation. "Let's go back and just tell Mrs. Forman that we checked. She'll never know we didn't."

His grip on the steering wheel tightened, staring straight out into the dark snowing night. "I'm not lyin' to Mrs. Forman, Jackie."

Before she'd even voiced the idea, Jackie knew that Hyde would be against it. He just wasn't the type of person who lied, least of all to Mrs. Forman. Still it didn't stop her from making the suggestion, nor did it stop her from getting upset with his response.

Her shoulders slumped even more, "I can't believe I got stuck in this search party with you."

"Ain't no picnic for me either, Princess."

Rolling her eyes, Jackie recrossed her arms and sunk lower in her seat. She turned her head to look out the window, watching the snowy roadside swoosh on by; she knew that she wouldn't find Mr. Forman looking out her window but it would at least keep her distracted from paying any mind to Steven.

When she didn't respond to his comment—it wasn't like Jackie to suddenly go quiet—Hyde's attention was caught and he stole a quick glance in her direction. It was only the back of her head that he spotted, but he could practically hear her huffing and see her lips pressing together angrily.

It wasn't just her who knew him well.

"Alright, look, Jackie," Hyde started to say, trying not to exhale too loudly. "I know you're still mad about this whole Mickey Mouse thing but you gotta stop acting like I was the one who planted the thing over at you place."

"You're still a prime suspect," she reported, but at least she was looking at him again.

Hyde smirked in response. "Even though it would've been a heck of a burn on you, I'd probably 've done it to Fez," he started to explain to her. "Easier target. _And_ doesn't kick as hard."

This time it was Jackie who felt her lips cracking into a smile and soon after, a giggle erupted from her lips. The sound surprised the two of them. It had been while since Hyde had made her laugh when it was just the two of them—granted there weren't many times when it was just the two of them. Nevertheless, it felt kind of nice, familiar. Hyde realized he'd even missed it.

Jackie's defenses lowered with her arms. "You're right, Steven. I have been upset about…well you know," she still had trouble saying it out loud; especially since the last time she did, half of Point Place found out about her little cheese eating problem. "It just drives me crazy that something so small and disgusting and _vile_ is living in my home."

"Thought you'd be used to it after living with Fez," quipped Hyde, making another attempt to get a chuckle from his passenger.

She didn't even smile.

"And then you told people," she instead took the time to remind him

If he hadn't been driving, Hyde would have thrown his head back in annoyance. "I didn't tell people, Jackie. I only told Red."

" _He's_ _still_ _people_ ," Jackie reminded him once more, why did he think that was a good point? "Ugh, and now our friends know…"

"Hey," three fingers from each hand uncurled from the steering wheel in a halting motion; he wasn't about to let her blame him for that too. "I had nothing to do with that one. That was all you and your pie hole's doin'."

A frown formed on her forehead, "You could've stopped me, you know?"

"How would that have been fun for me?" he smirked until he noticed the upset reaction Jackie gave his statement. It seemed like the only way to make Jackie less irritable and therefore make this car ride more tolerable was if Hyde told her the truth. The realization of this made Hyde sigh before speaking.

"Look Jackie, I tried telling you this before and you either weren't listening or didn't give a damn about it but I'm hoping you listen now," his firm tone of voice was not lost on Jackie, she turned to him again, telling herself to at least try to hear him out this time…unless he said something stupid. "The only reason I told Red was cuz I didn't think you were going to. Figured you were either gonna be too prideful or too embarrassed to admit you had a mouse at your apartment…"

"Shh!" Jackie frantically waved her hands up and down.

Hyde held in a laugh. "Jackie, no one's around to hear us."

Jackie eyes cut sharply at him and hissed out "You don't know that!"

Shaking his head, he continued with what he had to say, "You weren't gonna tell Red and if I didn't, you were gonna be stuck with that thing forever. And I didn't want that happenin' to you." And so as not to seem too girly, he swiftly added on, "They're even worse than having a Fez in your apartment."

"You told Mr. Forman because you were looking out for me?" Jackie was finally making the connection, "Because you care about me." This had to be the nicest thing Steven had done for her since…before Chicago; her hand covered her heart. "Oh, Steven."

"I…I wouldn't say that," Hyde shifted in his seat, eyes staring ahead and out the windshield.

Immediately, Jackie's face crumpled and she scoffed—not at Hyde, but rather her own stupidity. "Of course, you wouldn't. Typical Steven Hyde!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" his harsh voice matched the expression on his face.

"Don't get mad at me, I'm just pointing out the truth," Jackie was unfazed by Hyde's reaction and sat their examining her nails; but then looked up and pointed one of those garnet colored nails right at him. "And the truth is you have a hard time admitting that you really care about people."

"No, I don't," he sounded like the suggestion was pure preposterous.

"Oh yeah?" she was ready to challenge him. "Have you ever told Eric, your supposed best friend, how much he means to you? Have you ever even called him your best friend? What about The Formans? Have you ever told them…"

Hyde wasn't quite sure where she was going with this but he didn't like it. "Why does any of that matter?"

She shrugged, "It doesn't, _but_ " she tapped her index finger in his direction. "it answers my questions and further proves my point about you having a hard time telling people how much you care about them." Jackie's body slowly started to slump and she joined Hyde in watching the dark shinning road before them. "I've always kinda noticed it. I mean it took a long time for you to tell me that you loved me when we were dating—and I'm loveable!"

"Yeah, you're real freakin' loveable right now," he muttered to himself.

Jackie shot him a look but he didn't catch it.

"I told you I loved you when we were dating, plenty," his hold on the wheel was starting to tighten again.

"Sure, but what about when you first told me, remember that? Hmm?" she rose up several inches as she watched him, not caring if he wasn't looking at her. "You said it only after we broke up and you were trying to get me to forgive you and take you back. After that the times you said it were few and far between, sometimes I wondered if the only you said first said I love you was because you were trying to get me back."

' _That wasn't the only reason,_ ' Hyde wanted to tell her but instead kept the thought to himself and commented on another part of her speech that she thought was so high and mighty.

"Fine. I might not 've said how I felt about you every freakin' day but I sure as hell showed it."

"Oh yeah," Jackie agreed with a mocking scoff. "You had a great way of showing it when brought home that bleach blonde stripper."

A deathly silence followed the statement and the gasp Jackie made when she realized just what she had said. Hyde had yet to look at her but she knew he was not happy with her…she wasn't happy with herself either. All this time neither she nor Steven had ever brought up Sam, Chicago, or any of that mess but now that she had brought up the reminder and as part of an argument against him, Jackie was sure she had just sent their relationship back a step.

It wasn't one of the little baby steps that they'd taken to get to the odd sort of friendship they had now but rather one that was so giant it could send them back to the winter of 1979.

Jackie didn't think her relationship with Hyde was all that great today—there was a reason neither wanted to carpool together in this search party—but it was better than had been that winter years ago. Jackie didn't think there could be a worse winter than that one…and she definitely didn't want a repeat of it now.

"Steven," her voice was soft and slightly muffled as she removed the hand she'd used to cover her mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…it just slipped out. I'm sorry…"

Hyde said nothing. He just continued to drive, focusing on the icy roads and clutching the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.

"No, you're not," he took a brief moment to glower in Jackie's direction then returned his eyes to the road. "You say Sam comin' into our lives was the worst thing that ever happened to you but deep down, I think you're glad it happened. Because you get to shove it back in my face like this and have a Jackie pity party all over again."

Her wide brown eyes bore into Hyde's profile. Jackie knew her words would have upset him but what he had said to her…she couldn't believe he said that, that he could ever think such a thing. Hyde's words pained her heart so much she was having to breath in deep, heavy breaths.

"Screw you, Steven," Jackie's voice was barely above a whisper; however, as she continued on, each word got louder—and angrier. "Screw you and your stupid Zen!"

Then just to piss her off even more, Hyde shrugged one shoulder, "Whatever."

She shook her head, already able to see some of that 1979 uncaring, hurtful Hyde rearing his head out, ugly pornstache and all. This time though she refused to let him hurt her again, not without getting her turn to say something.

"You know, I used to think that your whole Zen thing was like a brick wall that you built around yourself and one of the reasons you built that wall up was to see who would stick around to help you take it apart," Jackie shared, even though it didn't appear as though Hyde was very interested. "But every time someone took down one brick you put up two more!"

Hyde pretended to focus purely on his foot work, his right foot eased down on the brake pedal as he drove them through the bend in the road.

Jackie didn't care if he wasn't listening, there was no stopping her rant now. "And because of this one of these days there's gonna be no one left who cares about helping you take down that stupid wall. It's just gonna be you and that Zen wall of yours. Not Eric. Not Donna. Not The Formans. And most definitely not me!"

No sooner than the words left Jackie's lips Hyde slammed on the breaks causing the El Camino to come to such an abrupt stop, Jackie jolted forward. If she hadn't held her hand out in front of her, her head would have slammed into the car's dashboard.

Her fingertips gripped the surface of the dashboard and eyes burned with hatred as she glared at Hyde.

"Steven! _What_ _the_ _hell_?" she screeched out at him. Hyde's eyes were off the road and looking at where she sat but it was like he was looking past her instead of at her and it made Jackie even more upset. "Are you trying to kill us? I mean…"

"Shut up, Jackie."

Whether it was yelled at her or demanded in a calm but forceful manner like it was said now, Jackie Burkhart did not enjoy being told to shut up.

"Excuse me?" her eyebrow rose and her head jerked back slightly. "Did you just tell me to shut up?" she asked but Hyde continued to look past her and that was upsetting her even more than him telling her to shut her mouth. "God, Steven! You don't even have the decency to look at someone while they're yelling at you. What is so interesting over there?"

She turned her head to look out the window behind her and then she saw it.

Jackie's anger disappeared and was replaced by such an intense feeling, it was hard to put into words. All Jackie knew was that it felt like some of her vital organs had shifted out of place. Her stomach felt twisted in knots and she could feel a sharp pain in her throat where she was sure her heart had lunged up into.

"Oh my God," Jackie's voice was a soft whisper. "Steven…is that…"

Hyde swallowed hard, "I think so."

Her head swung around to face his again, her eyes were wide and searching trying to see past his stupid shades and into his own.

"What do we do?" She had more of her loudness but her tenor was shaking like a leaf.

He finally tore his gaze away from the scene outside and noticed the way his ex-girlfriend was looking at him. It was like seeing the fearful look in Jackie's eyes was the final push Hyde needed to get into action. In a flash of a moment he was putting the Camino in park, throwing open the door and hopping out onto the slippery asphalt.

"Scoot over here," Hyde ordered her as he dug his arm into the small space behind the driver's seat in search of the small roadside kit he'd thrown together years ago with the help of The Formans.

Though Jackie did as she was told, seconds when she looked down in front of her and saw the steering wheel, she couldn't remember actually having moved into her new seat.

At last Hyde found the raggedy old duffle bag that if he remembered correctly held a blanket, road flares, and a small bag of kitty litter among other roadside emergency 'necessities.' When he pulled the bag out, he spotted Jackie and the motionless state she sat in; sitting with her arms at her sides, simply staring at the steering wheel, looking like a young girl who was going to ride her bicycle without training wheels after already falling over a few times.

She was scared and he didn't blame her.

Hyde tossed to bag onto the road and took Jackie's hands in his, pulling them up and making them grip the curve of the steering wheel.

The contact of Hyde's holding hers snapped Jackie out her daze and she looked at him. He was trying to conceal it, maybe for her or maybe for himself, but Jackie could tell he was just as scared as she was.

"Remember that gas station we passed about five minutes ago?" he asked her and she nodded, though at this point the gas station was a vague memory. "I want you to go back over there, use the phone and call for help. Tell 'em were out somewhere around the halfway mark of Gritting's Road. I'm gonna…" he had to stop and take a moment to keep a thought from entering his mind. "Gonna go try it see if I can do _something_."

"Okay, okay," Jackie gripped the wheel and nodded her head; she was trying to be brave but it was too much for her. "But Steven, I…I can't drive this. This car's not like the Lincoln…I don't know how…I can't…"

"Yes, you can. You drove it back during the summer we first started going together," her tearful ramblings were interrupted by his reminder of a happier time. "You can do this, doll. _You gotta do this._ "

Jackie stared at Hyde and knew he was right.

Taking in a deep shaking breath, trying to calm herself, she nodded her head, "Okay."

"Okay," Hyde repeated before adding, "Be careful."

She nodded, "You too."

Hyde's nod was much shorter and he moved out of the way so he could close the driver's door. The shutting of the door echoed out there on the road that was currently empty but would soon be filled with plenty of chaos and people. Hyde's only thought as he ran off from Jackie and his Camino, was that he hoped they weren't too late.

After putting the vehicle in drive and making sure there was no incoming traffic, Jackie did a careful U-turn and headed back down the road that would lead her back to the gas station a few miles away. She kept her hands gripped at 10 and 2 and her attention focused on the road; refusing allow herself to look to her left and at the scene of Hyde running over to the snowy ditch where, lying on its side like some toy that had been forgotten in the snow, was an orange Toyota.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _I hope you all liked the chapter, lots of JH right? And there's still more to come! Sorry about the sort of cliffhanger at the end but the next chapter is written, just gotta type it out and then hope to have it up soon. Also remember I do send out sneak peeks when you review and this might be when you want a sneak peek of the next chapter :D If sneak peeks aren't you're thing, hopefully you all are still interested in the story and I can post the next chapter very soon!_

 _Next time we'll find out who's in the Toyota (thought I'm sure you all can figure that out) what's happened to them, and how the family will react to the news._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	12. Chapter 11: Leader of the Band

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing._

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have for you the newest chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" Sorry the wait was a tiny bit longer than expected but better than last time right? Thank you SO SO much for the truly incredible support you all have given this story. All the kind words and amazing reviews on the last chapter really made my day, week, and month. I know the cliffhanger was pretty bad but here's the chapter revealing some of what's happened. Warning you *might* wanna grab some tissues before you start reading. Thank you for stopping by to read, please review if you can, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Don't worry if you haven't reviewed the story before, I'd still love to hear from you! Again, thank you so very much for the very wonderful support! *hugs and some tissues* Just in case! Also please keep in mind, I am not a doctor or police officer, please excuse any errors I may have made in those area, most of my research comes from google and quite a few TV shows too. Okay I won't keep you much longer, let's get the chapter on the road. Thank you for reading, please review if you can, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

* * *

He hated places like this. Their grimly gray painted walls, florescent lights, and uncomfortable chairs.

"Man, this is total bullshit!" Hyde declared from where he sat.

"Hyde, it's not bullshit," said Kelso, and the lack of goofy playfulness in his tone told of how serious the situation really was. "It's like…you know, police protocol."

Fez and Kelso had been at the gas station that Jackie had driven back to so she could call for help. It hadn't been on their search route but they'd gotten tired and made a quick Slurpee stop. It had been a good thing they'd been there too. Once Jackie managed to pull herself together long enough to tell them what was going on, Fez made the 911 phone call while Kelso went into mature police officer mode—and he hadn't gotten out of it since.

' _Police_ _protocol_ ,' Hyde thought with a scoff and he crossed his arms across his chest. "Yeah, like the police protocol of you gettin' free donuts?"

"No," Kelso argued with a frown. "That's a cool, free protocol. This is a boring, sad protocol," he voice had softened a little, "But we still gotta do it."

Hyde stared up at his standing friend, could this really be the same guy who'd helped vandalize countless of teacher's homes? "Man, since when do you start following the man's rules?"

"Since they gave me back my real gun. I'm not going back to that water pistol Hyde!"

There was some of the old moronic Kelso, Hyde had grown up with. Selfish and thinking about only himself and it pissed Hyde off even more. They weren't supposed to be thinking about themselves right now or even each other. There was only one person who'd been on his mind since he'd stepped into this building and it sure as hell wasn't Kelso or his water pistol.

"You seriously gonna make Mrs. Forman go through this shit when I already did it?" Hyde was so angry, he could no longer keep his arms folded in front of him; it was taking all his willpower not to throw his balled-up fists into something, or someone. "I saw him man! I know that's Red in there. I identified him."

It was times like this, Kelso wished he hadn't entered the academy and had instead followed his childhood dream of becoming a rodeo clown. An angry bull was a lot less scary than the angry Steven Hyde he was facing off with now.

"Hyde, I _know_ you saw him," he felt like he was repeating himself. "But it doesn't matter if you identified him, you're not family."

"Kelso!" Donna instantly scolded, even before she noticed the way Hyde's facial features had begun to sag.

Donna and Eric had finished searching their route and had been on their way back home when they spotted the familiar black El Camino driving down a road that hadn't been in the plans. They'd followed, expecting to catch Hyde sneaking or slacking off, maybe heading to a bar or _Grooves_ , they never expected the vehicle to come to a stop in the parking lot of the town's medical examiner's office.

Eric had been in shock since they'd told him and Donna had been doing her best to comfort him and keep him with them but the truth was she looked over the verge of a breakdown herself. Hyde felt guilty for thinking it, but he hadn't realized Donna and Red had been that close…

"What?" It took Kelso a few moments to see his careless but still hurtful error. "I'm sorry guys. But legally and blood relatedly, it's true."

Sitting silently, two chairs away from where Donna sat with her right arm over Eric's hunched back, Jackie looked over at Hyde who sat with Fez in the row of plastic chairs in front of them.

He'd shifted in his seat, refolding his arms a little lower over himself, playing it Zen for anyone who hadn't learned how to see past it, like Jackie. She could see the effect Michael's words had on Steven and while her heart broke for him she said nothing. Then again she hadn't said much since she described to Fez and Michael the snowy scene she was sure was going to haunt her dreams for weeks to come.

"Whatever," was all Hyde muttered back.

Kelso hated being the bad guy, so he tried offering another reminder. "Look, Eric could go in there and do it himself if he wanted."

The offer had already been made and denied by Eric but Kelso brought it up again, hoping get some of the blame off him and onto someone else.

"Yeah, and Eric doesn't want to," Donna made her own reminder, glaring at Kelso for even bringing it up; she knew her boyfriend didn't do well around dead bodies, especially ones he was so used to seeing alive.

Hyde heaved out a sigh, hoping to let go of some of his anger in the heavy exhale. "Come on Forman," he tried coaxing his friend. "You can't save your mom from all this by manning up and getting in there?"

Eric removed his hands that had covered his face and locked eyes on Hyde's unshaded pair. "No, okay. No, I can't," he stood from his seat, knocking Donna's arms off him. "And I know what you're thinking and you know what? You're right!" he was starting to babble on deliriously. "So tease all you want because I am waiting for my mommy. Because I need her, right now okay? I need my mom!"

"Well, that's always nice to hear, even if it isn't said in the happiest of times."

Hearing the familiar voice speak the word, everyone turned their heads to find Kitty Forman stepping into the sitting area; little Betsy on her hip and Brooke standing not too far behind them.

The moment that they spotted the woman who was like a mother to each of them, the atmosphere became even more somber and they all rose to their feet. Still thinking quickly, Kitty handed Betsy over to her mother to keep the younger girl out of the middle of the line of hugs that was coming her way. It was a line that started with a bone-crushing weeping one from Fez and ended with a soft gentle one from Hyde.

"How're you kids holding up?" Kitty asked, still hugging her adopted son, her hand rubbing his back.

Jackie wanted to smile, the woman had to be in one of the most heartbreaking situations and here she was asking how others were doing. Jackie truly wanted to smile but her sadness wouldn't let her.

Donna was the one to reply to Mrs. Forman's question with one of her own. "How're you doing?"

Now that she had hugged all over her kids, Kitty looked around at their gloomy worried faces and mustered up the best smile she could—she hoped they didn't notice the trembling she felt at its corners. Lifting her chin, she shook her head just slightly.

"I keep expecting to be woken up by his voice telling me that I've started snoring," she shared with a faint laugh before making a quick addition. "Which for the record I do not do."

They knew it was an attempt to raise their spirits a little maybe make them laugh, but laughing was the last thing the group felt like doing. Some small smiles cracked onto a few of their lips were barely managed before Officer Kelso started to speak up once again—much to Hyde's dismay.

"Mrs. Forman, I know you probably wanna get this over with as soon as possible. I can walk with you over there," he offered, placing a comforting hand on her upper arm.

"Oh," Kitty's face fell; not only because of the reminder of why she was there but also because of the matureness that Michael Kelso was displaying. It felt like just last month he was jumping from the roof onto a trampoline…maybe that _had_ been last month…either way, the young officer had a point. She began to nod her head, "Okay."

Kelso mirrored her actions and keeping his hand on her arm, he started to guide her away from the group and towards the room a few yards away. He had taken only one step while Kitty appeared to be weighed down and stuck in her spot, until a voice called from behind.

"Mom, wait!"

Not giving it a second thought, Kitty turned around and came face to face with her son.

"I…I couldn't go in there by myself…" Eric started to explain.

His mother gave him the soft reassuring smile only a mother could give. "It's okay, honey. I understand."

"No, I'm not finished," he cut off her interjection with one of his own. Taking a breath, Eric squared his shoulders in a way that reminded her of him. "Mom, I couldn't go in there on my own but I could go in with you…if you want me to."

Kitty's smile tightened and tears started form in her eyes, "I'd like that."

"Okay."

Eric then released the hand of his girlfriend and took the open palm that his mom was holding out to him. When her hand wrapped itself around his Eric realized it had been years—maybe more than a decade—since he had held his mom's hand or allowed her to hold his. But feeling his mom holding his hand now gave him that same sense of security he felt when he was little and she would hold his hand as they crossed a busy street.

Back then, Eric had been nervous and scared, just like he was now, but he knew his mother wouldn't leave him behind, they were in it together, and she'd keep him safe. Now Eric only hoped that this time he could somehow sort of return the gesture.

The remaining group watched as mother and son walked hand in hand, following Kelso down the narrow hallway.

"Um…well, I think I'm gonna go take a walk with Betsy," announced Brooke, hefting the young girl on her hip; even though these people were as much Betsy's family as the rest of Michael's zany relatives, Brooke just didn't want her daughter surrounded by this sadness. "Fez, you wanna join us? Maybe we can stop for some candy."

Fez solemnly stared down at the ground, "I am too sad for candy."

"I can get candy for you, Uncle Fez," Betsy assured and the sweet promise made the foreigner smile as he watched the girl and her mother walk off.

When Donna saw the little girl wave goodbye to the group but no one wave back, she put on a smile and started to move her hand too. She guessed neither Brooke or Kitty had told Betsy what had happened and part of her selfishly hopped they never would. The little girl was their only source of happiness and hope right now.

As soon as Betsy was out of sight, the redhead dropped her hand and her smile fell with it.

She knew people said that this kind of stuff could be very draining but this was ridiculous. Donna lowered herself into the closest seat which just happened to be across from an upset Hyde and a very quiet Jackie. Usually Jackie would have been babbling on about some trivial thing or another, Donna would have pretended to be annoyed but would later admit to her friend that she appreciated her taking her mind off things in her own Jackie-like way. Right now, however, Jackie was silent; Donna actually couldn't remember hearing her friend say more than two words recently.

"Um, Jackie, you haven't really spoken since we got here. That's gotta be the longest time I've ever seen you so quiet," the redhead ribbed on, it didn't look as if Jackie had even heard her. "Jackie, you doing alright?"

Jackie stole a quick glance over at Steven, a rush of everything that happened out there came flooding back to her. She looked back at Donna and slowly shook her head back and forth. "I think it's gonna be a long time before we're all alright again."

0o0o0o

"Now you may see some cuts, bruises, even some discoloration and swelling; all from the injuries obtained from the accident," the man in the lab coat explained to the mother and son who walked into the room moments before.

Eric continued to hold his mom's hand. Part of him never wanted to let go, the other part of him was surprised that he hadn't done so already and scrambled out the door. He couldn't leave his mom at a time like this because not only did he feel like his place at this time was at her side, but because he felt like he couldn't physically move from her side, even if he wanted to. Whatever the bald man in the white coat was saying went right past Eric, his focus remained solely on the metal slap that seemed to take up most of the little room.

The jabbering man stood on one side while Eric and Kitty stood silently on the other and between them was that metal table with a dingy white sheet spread over it.

In the back of his mind Eric could remember seeing sheets like this covering the sofa and chairs in The Pinciotti hunting cabin to keep off dirt and dust. This time though Eric knew there would be no piece of furniture hidden under this dust sheet.

Lab coat man was still talking. "Of course, we can take care of these things should you want a viewing at the funeral."

"Whoa, whoa there buddy," Eric's ears had definitely picked up on that comment. He smiled and tried to laugh it off a bit, "We're not even sure that's him under there and already we're talking funerals? I know you're a mortician but that's pretty morbid don't you think?"

"I'm a medical examiner," the balding man corrected before adding, in a softer tone, "And I knew your father. This is just part of the protocol I'm afraid."

Nodding, Kitty tried to return his sympathetic smile with a reassuring one of her own. "We understand."

"Are you ready?" asked the medical examiner, as gently as he could.

Eric wanted to protest. He wanted to point out that no one could ever be ready for a moment like this. He wanted to tell his mom that they couldn't do this now, that the rest of the family should be here. Hyde, Donna, Laurie…his sister should be here…where was his sister? Eric began to wonder…Did anyone know where she was? Would anyone be able to contact her about this?

He never got the chance to put voice to any of these concerns or questions—that surely would have bought them some time—Eric saw his mother nodding her head.

She continued to nod her head like she was afraid her voice would fail her, "Yes."

The medical examiner nodded before his gloved hands grabbed the top of the sheet and slowly lowered it a quarter of the way. Even before he'd fully revealed the upper half of the figure and folded the white material in a next rectangular on the torso, Kitty knew. Her eyes followed the lowering sheet, every new inch uncovered chipping off another piece of her heart.

First was the top of a balding head that would stain with her lipstick any time she kissed it too hard. Then came the eyes, that even though were closed were just as familiar to her as if they were open—bushy eyebrows and all. The cloth was pulled some more revealing the nose that used to nuzzle the babies' bellies, the lips that had shared a million kisses with her own, the broad shoulders that had once proudly adorned a Navy uniform, and the chest where she's rest her head on till she was lured to sleep while listening to the rhythm of his steady heartbeat.

A sound Kitty knew was no longer there.

"Oh God…"Eric finally let go of his mother's palm only so that it could go up to cover his own mouth. His wide eyes were rapidly watering and he slowly shook his head as he stepped backwards from the displays. " _Oh_ _God!"_

Kitty could hear her son breaking down behind her but it didn't sound as close as it should; to her it sounded like some far-off echo. Her eyes remained on her husband.

Her dead husband.

She lifted her head to look at the medical examiner, she swallowed a sob but her voice still shook when she spoke. "That's…that's Red."

He nodded his head, keeping it bowed as he said, "I'll give you some time." And then he and his white lab coat left the room.

Eric had already moved several feet away, now up against the wall closest to the door and farthest away from the table that held this wax looking figure of his father. He didn't want to be in there, he wanted to go back to the hallway, to the house, to Madison—heck, he'd even go back to Africa! But he wouldn't leave, not even just out into the hallway, he couldn't do that to his mother.

Tears were rolling down his cheeks and his hand took turns covering his mouth, running over his face, and getting twisted into his hair. There were a thousand questions running through his mind. How could his father the Red Forman be dead? What was he supposed to do now? Would he get in trouble if he puked in here, right inside this examiner guy's trashcan?

While Eric was trying to stay as far away as possible, without actually leaving room, Kitty moved in closer.

As a nurse, Kitty was used to being around dead bodies; seeing them, touching them, even moving them from place to place. However, this wasn't just some dead body or even a dead body of a patient she'd grown close with during their occasional stays at the hospital, this was the dead body of the man she'd spent more than half her life with, the man she'd built a life with.

Reaching out she allowed her hand to touch his cheek and was startled by the fact that he was even colder than her own hands that were still thawing out from the Wisconsin winter outside. He was always the warm one who'd warm her up on cold winter nights.

She removed her hand from his icy face and dug under the sheet to take his hand, but instead of simply holding its coldness in her own hands she lifted the hand to the side of her face, making it cup it the same way it had done earlier that day.

Her eyes slipped shut and she tried to convince herself that she was back in that moment. Alone in their bedroom, George Jones playing on the radio, his warm hand against her cheek, Red still with her.

"Mom," a broken voice pulled her away from the memory.

Kitty blinked her eyes open and gently placed the stiffening limb back on the table before she turned and saw her son standing beside her, his eyes red with his grief.

"Mom," he cried again, "That's Dad and he's…Mom, he's…"

Eric couldn't bring himself to say it which was fine with Kitty because she wasn't ready to hear it; especially not from her own son.

"I know, honey," she nodded, her composure already beginning to crumble. "I know."

In effort to keep her son from seeing her fall into pieces, Kitty quickly pulled him into a vice gripping hug. Eric didn't pull away though and he hugged her back, his hold tightening each time the heart wrenching sounds of his mother's sobs touched his ears.

0o0o0o

Outside in the hallway, the cries filtered in. They weren't as loud and more muffled, but it didn't make them any less heartbreaking.

Wanting to go back there herself, Donna turned her head in their direction. Hyde cupped the back of his hanging head, holding the urge to act like some three-year-old kid and cover his ears to block out the sounds. And Jackie averted her sad eyes down at her clasped hands.

"I wonder if that is Eric or Miss. Kitty crying," Fez wondered out loud.

Hyde ripped his hands off his head and got out off his seat like it had been set on fire. "I'm not sittin' here and listenin' to that."

"Hyde!" Donna shouted as he marched off.

"Donna, no," It was the first time that Jackie had spoken without being spoken to first. She watched her ex-boyfriend storm off, knowing that what he needed right now was space, he was hurting but following him would only make things worse so she kept her arm stretched out in front of Donna. "Let him go."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Well, how was it? Was it too sad, not sad enough? Sorry if I made you cry or get a bit emotional, complimentary tissues and chocolates are offered if you've made it this far into the chapter. Thanks for sticking around!_

 _Again, I am no doctor, police officer or anyone who works in those fields, please excuse any errors I may have made._

 _Sorry there wasn't a whole lot of JH interaction like last time but there will be more next time. Next chapter we'll see more of the group comforting, or at least trying to comfort each other, during this trying time, and there will be some talk about what exactly caused Red's accident._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	13. Chapter 12: Everything I Own

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well and 2017 has started off great for you all. Today I have for you, finally, the next chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" I am so, so so sorry for taking so long to update. Things were just crazy with the whole nanowrimo thing (didn't even win) and then during Christmas time I thought these chapters would be too sad to post around the holidays but I'm hear now! Ready to post as long as you all are still ready to read! Thank you for all of the truly incredible and amazing support you've given this story it means SO much! I'm sorry the last chapter was so sad, this one's a kinda somber too but maybe not AS sad, so just a tiny tissue warning this time. This chapter does have more JH though! So that's a good thing right? Kinda…well you'll see! Okay I've rambled long enough I think. Again, thank you for your wonderful support! Thanks for reading please review if you can, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

* * *

"Hey."

"Hey."

Jackie very slowly and more than a little nervously, lowered herself into mental bench outside the building. She felt herself stiffen at both the sensation of her body making contact with the freezing seat as well as sitting so close Steven. It was after all a very small, cold, green bench.

She had told Donna earlier to let him go and not follow him because Jackie knew him and knew that at a time like this he needed space. However, when it was drawing close to the half hour mark and Steven had still not returned, Jackie set off to go look for him. Just as Jackie knew that it was important to give Steven his space when he needed it, she knew that during times like these you couldn't give him too much space for too long of periods or he'd end up damaging something, someone, or in worse cases himself.

There had been a great wave of relief when Jackie found him quietly sitting on the bench by himself.

"I brought you your jacket," She handed him the important piece of clothing he'd left behind.

It was freezing out and he was in his usual uniform of jeans and concert tee, the only part of him that could've possibly been warm were his hands that were currently wrapped around a small steaming Styrofoam cup.

Hyde looked at the brown suede material, "Thanks."

However, he made no move to grab the coat. Truth was he'd probably end up giving the thing away or even burning it. Hyde wanted rid himself of the tainted memory the coat now had of when he shucked it off and used it to cover Red's injured body. He wasn't even sure what he'd been trying to do with it, keep Red warm, keep him alive, he had just tried to do _something_. Something that could help spare Forman and his mom from the heartache they were facing now.

Jackie placed the jacket in the small gap between them, she felt stupid for bringing it out here.

"So," her knees bounced due to both the cold and her nervousness. "How're you doing?"

"Just peachy," Hyde's reply carried fake, mocking cheeriness as did his forced on smirk.

"Right," Jackie nodded, slinking down in her seat, and keeping her gaze on her feet, "Dumb question."

"Yeah," he agreed but no longer in a mocking or even an angry way; it almost sounded like he was telling her that he might've asked her same question and that made Jackie feel a little bit better.

She glanced over at him, not carrying this time that he wasn't looking at her. "You know, Michael's a…" she stopped herself from saying the next word. It had for so long been associated with the man they'd lost, it felt wrong to say it now. To think that word would never be said in his voice again was going to take some getting used to. Not wanting to be the start of it, Jackie cleared her throat and continued. "He's a moron."

Hyde scoffed, "Yeah, what else is new?"

Her chin tucked in towards her neck and her eyebrow quirked. "Now who's got the dumb questions?"

"Yeah," he did sort of snort, hanging his head and then finding the strength to not only lift it back up but look over at Jackie. "They come out yet?"

"No," Jackie feebly replied.

Hearing her answer, Hyde threw his head back and forgetting that he wasn't wearing his shades, he squeezed his eyes shut. If it were him who'd gone in, he'd try to get out of there fast as he could. He was sure that at least Forman would've come sprinting back into the waiting area after a few minutes. Maybe Eric had taken it rougher than he imagined and Mrs. Forman needed help getting him back onto his feet. Or worse, what if it was Mrs. Forman who had fallen to pieces at seeing her husband's remains.

With an inner struggle, Hyde had to fight himself from getting up and going into the room; but why were they taking so long in there?

"Maybe it's taking so long because Eric and Mrs. Forman want to make sure it's really, really him," the brunette mused aloud, shocking Hyde with how much her statement matched the thoughts running through his brain.

Almost like she'd been reading his mind.

"It might turn out that it's not even him," Jackie tried to make her hopefulness sound sincere. "It could just be some other bald guy in Wisconsin who likes to wear plaid. There's a lot of them."

The comment brought neither one of them any comfort.

"It's him Jackie, you know it's him. We saw the car and I saw…" Hyde turned away, unable to bring himself to finish the thought.

Jackie noticed how abruptly he'd cut himself off and where it was he'd stopped his sentence. Her heart broke at the mere thought of the horrifying images he must have found in that turned over Toyota. Imageries that were sure to haunt him if he kept them to himself. And while Jackie didn't exactly want to have the traumatic scene described to her, she also didn't want Steven to feel alone.

Carefully her hand reached out until it rested over his right one, "Steven."

Hyde stared down at their hands. Her smaller one covering his that still held the small cup of coffee.

"Here," he said, pulling his hand away from hers so that he could hand her the beverage.

"What?"

"Machine only had the overly sweet stuff you like," explained Hyde, passing the cup into Jackie's hands. "Didn't realize it till I bought the stuff and I didn't want the ten cents goin' to waste either."

A very faint smile played across Jackie's lips while she gazed down at the coffee. She was touched that Hyde had chosen to give her his drink, that he had remembered how she liked her coffee. That he'd thought of her. This couldn't have been the same guy who said all those hurtful things to her in the car earlier. The things he said then may not have been important now but that didn't make them any less painful when Jackie did think about them.

"Steven," she drew in a shaky breath but when she lifted her eyes off the white cup, Jackie saw that Hyde was no longer sitting beside her on the bench.

"Steven!" her voice called out urgently the instant that she spotted him standing just away from the seat. It was only a few inches but she was already fearing the worse. "Where're you going?"

Hyde titled his head towards the entrance. "Inside. I wanna be there for 'em when they come outta there."

Attempting not to show how much relief filled her when Hyde said this, Jackie nodded her head in agreement then with his jacket in one hand and coffee in the other, she followed Hyde's lead back into the building.

0o0o0o

Jackie and Hyde appeared to have made it back to the waiting room just in time; no sooner than when they sat down in their previous seats did the mother son duo reenter the room.

They were still holding each other's hand, like they had been the last time the group had seen them, only there was still something different about it. Eric's red eyes and hanging head were focused down at the ground and no matter how much she tried, Kitty couldn't get her quivering lips to form into even the slightest smile.

Everyone looked at Kitty and her son with waiting eyes, even though deep down they already knew the answer.

Kitty drew in a wobbly breath, trying to hold her head up strong. "It's him."

Immediately, those who were sitting stood up and made their way to Eric and Kitty and the pair let go of the other's hand to allow the rest of their family to be their support in this trying time.

Hyde was the first one to approach Mrs. Forman. He gave her the longest and most sincere hug he'd ever given anyone, but when he finally pulled himself away from the embrace to give others the chance, his stare focused over her shoulder at man who'd had a part in causing his surrogate mother so much heartache.

Unable to take the angry glare Hyde was looking at him with, Kelso lowered his head and opted to hold off on giving his condolences.

As much as Donna wanted to give Kitty a hug, Hyde after all wasn't the only one who saw the woman as another mother, she could tell how much her boyfriend needed her. He looked like he was going to break into a million pieces and that made her heart want to do the same. She approached him with open arms and before she could close them around him, Eric had practically fallen into her arms.

"God, Donna, it was horrible," his sad voice muffled into her shoulder.

While her arms squeezed him tight and her hands rubbed his back gently, Donna looked over at Kitty with what she hoped was a sympathetic expression.

"Brooke took Betsy to go get you some coffee and a sandwich, Fez went with them," she informed the whereabouts of the missing family members.

"Oh, that's nice," Kitty said, still receiving her hug from Jackie.

Jackie carefully moved out of the older woman's arms and whipped the corner of her tear-filled eyes. She was cautious of her makeup, even though she was sure she must have looked like a racoon by now. "Do you want us to call anyone?" she offered, still holding Kitty's hand. "We didn't have any numbers before…"

Kitty stared back at Jackie, her question overflooding Kitty's mind with too many thoughts.

Phone calls, she was going to have to make phone calls. She had just lost her husband and now she was going to have to call people, or have the kids call people and then tell them that her husband was gone. She'd have to let Red's brother know and some of their old friends know, his old navy buddies, and Laurie. _Oh_ _God_ , how was she going to make contact with Laurie? And the bigger question, how would Kitty tell her that her father had died?

"No," the blonde shook her head, wanting to shake way those thoughts for now. "I, I'm not ready for make those calls yet."

Understanding the woman's grief, Jackie nodded her head and then looked around for guidance of what to do next, but everyone looked just as lost as she did.

"So should we go back home now?" was Donna's question. She'd once considered her fortunate to have not lost any immediate family members or been too young to have really known them when they passed, but now Donna was left inexperienced in situations like this and it made her feel unsure of what to do and also of herself. She hoped Kitty didn't think she was being insensitive. "What do we do now?"

A faint shadow of what was trying to be a smile found its way to Kitty's lips.

"You kids go," she instructed. This was a lot to take in and she didn't want to keep them hanging around this gloomy place, they looked exhausted. Kitty understood, maybe even more than they did, that she may have lost her husband but they'd also lost their father figure. "I know you all must be tired."

"Mom, you're tired too. You're gonna stay?" asked Eric, no longer hiding against Donna, however, still keeping her close just in case.

Again, Kitty drew in a heavy breath, it was like she was actually having to remind herself to breathe. "I have to fill out some forms, honey. I need to let them know which funeral home we want to use and take care of all the details…"

"I'll do that," Eric insisted. He knew it wasn't a lot but he wanted to take some of this burden off his mom's shoulders. "I can do it, Mom. You go home and rest."

Her eyes prickled with tears. Kitty was not only touched by the offer but the way her son reminded her so much of his father: trying to take control of the situation, looking out for her wellbeing.

"Oh sweetie. Thank you. _Really_. But I'm gonna have a hard enough time writing out some of these forms. It'll just be easier if I do it."

"Then we'll stay," Hyde stated like the decision had already been made. The other nodding heads only confirmed it.

Though it had been Kitty who told the group to go home to begin with, she was relieved that they weren't all leaving her just yet. They may not be able to help her fill out Red's information but they'd certainly help her feel a little less alone.

She gave them the best smile she could muster but that wasn't very big. "Well, that sounds nice, thank you."

Kitty's gaze traveled across each of these young adults that she loved as very her own children, but her eyes stopped on Steven; giving him another silent thank you that he responded to with a nod of his head. Feeling a tad more comforted at knowing she'd have her children with her, Kitty decided to get a start on this horrible process so it could be over with sooner.

Turning herself back around, she began to head towards the information desk when Michael Kelso suddenly popped out in front of her. Kitty startled at first then found herself wrapped up in his hugging arms.

"Mrs. Forman, I am so sorry," he hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Michael."

"Um okay," the tall man-child pulled away rather awkwardly. "That was Michael the kid who grew up in your basement supergluing things together, and this is Michael the police officer. We're the same good looking person but it's a little different," Kelso cleared his throat and when he spoke again his tone was less sympathetic and much more serious than any of them had ever heard him speak in. "Mrs. Forman, on behalf of the Point Place Police Department, we would like to highly recommend that you have an autopsy done on your husband's remains."

Hyde could feel his face get hot. "Dammit Kelso, you really gotta do this crap now?"

"It's protocol, Hyde!" Kelso reminded his friend once more.

"Autopsy?" repeated Kitty as she looked back and forth at the men who stood on either side of her. "What? Why?

Kelso wiped the outraged scowl that had formed on his face during his shouting match with Hyde. He even ignored the way his friend flung himself into one of the plastic seats. Instead he remained determined in officer mode so that he could explain himself and answer Mrs. Forman's questions in the best way he could.

"Well you see Mrs. Forman, every car accident that happens has to have a report filed," he began to tell her and Kitty blinked her eyes a few times, having a difficult time concentrating on what was being said and just who was saying it. "Because your husband's accident appears to be a single car accident and there weren't any witnesses for the event, it's a little more difficult to determine a cause. Your husband's accident is currently under investigation."

"Man, quit with that 'your husband' crap," grumbled a crossed looking Hyde. "You know her husband's name. You called him his freakin' name."

"It's protocol, Hyde!"

Fists clutched at his side, Hyde rose to his feet. "Say that word one more time, Kelso. I dare ya."

"Steven!" Kitty scolded sharply before nodding back at Kelso. "Now, Michael, go on."

Nodding his head, Kelso kept a wary eye on Hyde as he spoke again. "Well, the autopsy would help us determine if there were any factors from Mr…Red," he rephrased himself in time. "That um, that might've caused the accident. Like if there were anything in his system…"

"No, no." she swiftly cut him off before he could continue with the examples. "No. Red, he would never drive while under the influence."

"Okay, but would he drive drunk?" Kelso seemed to forget that two meant the same thing, making his friends around him shake their heads or roll their eyes.

Meanwhile Kitty simply shook her head, "No, honey."

Kelso bobbed his head up and down, he figured as much but was trying to follow his police protocol. "Mrs. Forman, it wouldn't just be the autopsy that we look at. Our police report will look at the conditions of the roads, the marks on the car, we'll determine if there were any other cars or any animals on the road at the time…" he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We'll find out what happened."

Kitty rapidly nodded her head, but didn't look the officer in the eyes. It wasn't that she didn't believe him because she did, she was sure that they would be able to determine the cause of Red's accident as soon as they looked at the autopsy report. She was a nurse she knew what an autopsy was and what they were used to look for. She also knew what they would find if she allowed them to do the autopsy on Red's body.

They would find the thing Red tried to keep from their kids because he didn't want their sympathy or for them to think any less of him. He would have hidden it from them forever if he could and that would have been impossible while he was alive but maybe now that he was gone, Kitty could carry that secret for him.

"You know kids, it…" she swallowed, trying to rid the lump in her throat, "it was probably his heart."

Eric squeezed Donna's hand. "Was it that bad, Mom?"

Her fingertips flew to her forehead, she used her hand to try to shield the sight of her son from her eyes. "Well, it, it had been giving him trouble since the heart attack. And he didn't take care of it the way he should have and…" Kitty dropped her hand to reveal her tearful, heartbroken face. "And I didn't make him take care of it like _I_ should have."

Jackie wasn't sure what it was but something felt off. Mrs. Forman was a nurse, shouldn't she want the autopsy done? Instead she seemed to be avoiding any talk about it. Maybe it was because Mrs. Forman wanted to move past this whole dead body thing as soon as possible, Jackie knew that's how she felt.

"It was probably a sudden cardiac arrest," informed Kitty, trying to keep herself together as she said the words. "It would've happened quickly…he wouldn't have felt anything."

While Hyde hung his head back in his hands, Donna, Eric, Jackie, and even Kelso all looked at each other. They were sure Kitty's thoughts were meant to bring some kind of comfort in knowing Red hadn't been in pain but it only made them think of what the man's last moments could have been like.

"The autopsy can determine if you're right, Mrs. Forman. And it'll probably help the investigation go by faster," Kelso decided to add to his argument.

Kitty stared up at Michael and then around the room at the other waiting faces. She didn't want to prolong this investigation more than it needed to be or it would turn into gossip around town or worse appear printed in the paper. Kitty still felt uneasy about the autopsy, and what it would find, mostly how her husband would've felt about it but he wouldn't tell the kids and she couldn't tell them, maybe having it in a report would the best way to tell them. Part of Kitty even wishfully hoped nothing would pop up, but she'd be prepared if it did.

She took yet another deep breath and nodded, "Okay."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and that it was worth the wait. I'm hoping the next chapter will be up around this time next week or possible the next depending on the audience and my new work schedule. :)_

 _Next chapter Kitty and the kids will return to the Forman home for the first time without Red there. It's not an easy task for everyone._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know, what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	14. Chapter 13: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! I am so very sorry for being away for so long, it had been some crazy few months that have kept me busy and away from fanfic. But I really did miss writing this fic and after struggling a bit with writing this chapter I finally finished it and I've started working on the other parts of the fic too. I'm very excited to get back to writing and posting more chapters for you all so I hope you're excited to read them too! I'll talk about updates some more at the end, for now I just want to say thank you so much for the incredible support you all have given this story, it means so very much! I hope there are still some readers here and if you are please do review with your thoughts, I'd love to hear them, even if you haven't reviewed before, don't be shy :) This chapter does contain a slight tissue warning, just slight! Thank you once again for the incredible support and for coming back to read this chapter, hope you like, please review if you can, and as always Enjoy!_

* * *

It was just nearing midnight when Eric, Donna, Kitty, Hyde, and Jackie dragged themselves through the Formans' front door. Of course, it wasn't typical that anyone used that door but parking in front of the house like they'd also done wasn't normal either. Hyde and Donna, who had driven Eric and Jackie in the Cruiser, had decided to park the vehicles in the front of the house tonight to avoid having to make Eric and Kitty walk past the garage. A place that would now only serve as a reminder of Red Forman.

Exhaustion weighed heavily on each of them. Jackie felt so tried that she hadn't even bothered to reapply the ruined makeup she'd washed off hours earlier. She felt like she was just going through the motions, as she and her friends followed Mrs. Forman into the house.

They let Kitty walk in front, but with Hyde close behind her, so that they could keep an eye on her and make sure she was okay. She hadn't cried since they'd heard the sobbing coming from the back room at the medical examiner's office. She was being strong for all of them, for Red—and they worried over the moment that she wouldn't be able to do it any longer and break down.

Any time Kitty had been in tears Red had been the one to step in and try to make her feel better whether it was by comforting her or threatening to put his foot up the ass of the person who'd upset her. It had been his job to take care of her in those kind of moments, it was a job he performed like it was reflex.

Only now Red was gone and the job was being left up to the rest of them.

"I think I'll put on some tea," Kitty shared as she stuck her house keys into her purse; she was the only one who carried a pair. "Does anybody want any?"

She turned around and saw the four shaking heads. After getting her response, Kitty nodded and headed for the kitchen until she saw something that made her stop from taking another step forward.

Red's green armchair. It was sitting in its usual spot, but it looked as empty as Kitty's heart felt.

Hyde kept a watchful eye on his adopted mother's unmoving figure. He knew it would have been darn near impossible to keep out of her sight things that would remind her of Red, but he wished one of them had had the brains to come in before her and at least attempt to cover the chair with a sheet or something. Donna and Jackie appeared to be having similar thoughts, they were looking at each other making silent exchanges. Meanwhile, Eric stood off to the side with a hanging head, unsure of what he was pretending to not have noticed his mother's behavior or his father's seat.

"Mrs. Forman."

Kitty ignored the call and carefully took that next step forward. Only her destination was no longer the kitchen for her warm cup of tea. It was like the chair was drawing her in, her steps towards it were slow yet steady. And once she was close enough, her hand reached out to touch the seat's headrest.

Her eyes slipped closed as she let her fingertips run over the ridged green material. It wasn't as soft as it had been that Father's Day when she, Laurie, and Baby Eric had presented him with the throne but the memory of that day was still woven in there. Just like so many other memories.

After all, how many times had Red delivered a stern lecture to one of their kids from this chair? How many games had she watched him cheer, and sometimes jeer, at his beloved Packers? How many nights had she come home from a late night shift and found Red snoring away in his chair after trying to stay up for her? She'd lost track of all those times but the worst thing was, there would never be another time for any of those things.

A rough scraping sound broke through the heavy silence as Kitty dug the nails of her left hand into the green material while her right hand flew over her mouth, just barely muffling her heartbreaking sob.

In an instant Hyde was at Kitty's side, and in the process, had cut Eric off from getting to their mother first. It wasn't something that had been done on purpose, in all honesty, Hyde hadn't even noticed Eric walking towards Kitty, his mind and attention was solely on Kitty and making sure he got to her before she somehow hurt herself.

Hyde appeared to have reached Kitty just in time too. No sooner than when he placed a gentle hand on her back did Kitty collapse against him in tears.

Though Hyde had never considered himself to be someone who was necessarily good at comforting someone, this wasn't just a someone, this was Mrs. Forman. The woman who'd always been there to comfort him, even during the times he claimed that he didn't need it. She was always there for him and now, though he wasn't exactly sure how he'd do it, Hyde wanted to try to be there for her.

He hugged her closer then panicked slightly when it seemed like the hugging made Kitty's weeping intensify.

"Oh Steven, it wasn't supposed to be this. We were supposed to have more time!" her cries held only pain and regret. "I shouldn't have let him go to the store!"

Eric's hurt deepened at his mother's words that he felt were directed at him. His guilt weighed heavily on his shoulder and watching his mother finding comfort in his best friend instead of himself made Eric shake his head in an exasperated manner. Hyde may not have been their biological son but he had always been his parent's favorite son; he didn't to be reminded about doing household chores, he didn't move away, he didn't request a change of the menu that would send Red out to the store and to his death.

Shaking his head, Eric couldn't take it anymore and pushed his way into the kitchen.

With Hyde still holding Kitty's wracking body, that he was currently trying to help to the sofa, Donna and Jackie were the only ones to witness Eric's exit.

Donna's brows furrowed at her boyfriend's retreating back, "Eric."

Of course, he didn't respond to her call nor did he stop his footsteps out of the living room. When Eric's form went onto the other side of the swinging door, Donna looked back at her best friend, exchanging a quick glance before heading into the kitchen herself, leaving Jackie behind with Hyde and Mrs. Forman.

By now Hyde had managed to get the older woman off her feet and into a seat on the sofa; he remained at her side, little space between them, and his arm over her shaking shoulders. Jackie felt more than a little out of place watching them and for a brief moment debated following Donna into the kitchen but knew she'd feel even more inapposite and unhelpful with the pair of goons in there.

Deciding that since Eric was Donna's boyfriend, Donna should be the one to deal with his emotional tantrum, Jackie slowly joined Hyde and Kitty on the sofa.

Carefully, Jackie sunk herself into the spot at Kitty's right, Hyde was sitting on the other side of her left. The moment she sat down, Jackie felt his eyes upon her and she put her guard up before lifting her head—if he tried to get her to leave she would, but not before giving him a good kick in the shins! Her defenses quickly lowered when her mistrustful stare met his own and found that it wasn't angry at all nor Zen like she expected.

His eyes shone with fear, worry, and much more sadness than Jackie had ever seen in them before. It was the kind of look Hyde usually hid behind his sunglasses but here he was with his unshaded gaze locked on hers, almost like he was pleading with her for help.

She could tell Steven was looking at her, asking her what he should say to help the weeping Mrs. Forman; however the unexpected passing of Mr. Forman had brought on the rare moment of silence from Jackie where she not only didn't want to talk but didn't know what to say.

Sometimes, Jackie knew, it was better not to say anything at all. It wasn't an idea she normally practiced but in this situation, it seemed right.

Jackie tried to nonverbally convey this message to Hyde, using only the expression on her face, and it was clear that he received it when his tense shoulders slumped with disappointment.

There couldn't be a lot said, Hyde understood this but he still felt the need to say _something_. He couldn't just sit there and watch the woman he saw as his mother fall apart. He tried to think of something someone might tell him in a moment like this that would make him feel better…

"Mrs. Forman," his hand rubbed her back softly. "You wanna be alone for a while?"

Nothing anybody could say would have made Hyde feel better he soon realized, he'd have marched off to be alone and opted to see if Mrs. Forman needed to do the same.

Kitty continued to hug herself, hands gripping opposite arms, tears seeping down her cheeks. "I already feel like I am."

Her words pierced tears in Jackie's eyes and an ache in Hyde's chest.

"Mrs. Forman, hey," Hyde moved in, hugging Kitty closer. "You're not alone, okay? You're not," he tried to keep his voice soft but it was coming out in a firm tone. Hyde was didn't want Mrs. Forman thinking she was alone in this for even a split of a second. "You've got Forman. And you've got me, Donna, Jackie…and even thought you probably don't want 'em, you've got Kelso and Fez too."

With glistening eyes the older woman gave a bleak form of her usual smile.

Because Hyde understood that was the best he was gonna get at the time—and he was lucky she had managed that—he continued on.

"You're not alone, Mrs. Forman," Hyde repeated once more, he wanted to stress this as much as he could. Mrs. Forman had always been there for them, it was time they returned to the favor. "And you're not gonna be. I promise." His fingers squeezed hers.

"Thank you, Steven," Kitty said on a shaky breath while retuning his hand squeeze in a much gentler form. "That really does help a little bit. And right now, a little bit goes a long way."

Jackie watched the small smile exchanged between the mother and her adopted son, and Jackie felt the need and desire to help contribute to doing something that would make Mrs. Forman feel better. Or at least bring her some kind of comfort. Suddenly she remembered what Mrs. Forman had been preparing to do moments before she'd spotted the old armchair and broken down in tears.

"Mrs. Forman," Jackie placed her palm on Kitty's upper arm. "I could boil some water for you and throw in one of those dirt packet looking things…" By this point in her offer, her brows had furrowed just slightly. "That is how you make tea, right?"

Kitty gave another very timid smile, one had to wonder if she'd ever smile one of her bright happy smiles again, now that Red was gone.

"No thank you, dear," she gave a gentle pat to the hand that remained on her arm. "It's a very sweet offer but, I just…I'd like to go to bed."

And wake up to find this has all been a very bad dream, Kitty kept these thoughts to herself. For nearly a week following Red's heart attack she'd had various nightmares of him not surviving the attack. She'd wake up frazzled, covered in sweat, her own heart going crazy; but the moment she'd spot her husband's sleeping from she'd calm down and find comfort in knowing it had all just been a horrible dream.

It was highly unlikely this would be the case this time, but it didn't stop Kitty from wishing it would.

"You want us to help you?" asked Hyde, his concern was the stairs. He'd been there to catch her during her last breakdown, he worried she'd have another going up the staircase and he wouldn't reach her fast enough.

The older woman could see the concern her adopted son had for her and while she greatly appreciated, she didn't want to babied. Losing her husband might have made her a widow but certainly didn't turn her into some incompetent old lady.

"I think I can manage," and for an added good measure Kitty stood up from her seat. She wanted to show them she could still stand on her own two feet. "I know tonight…it wasn't easy." She swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment, when she reopened them there were new fresh tears brimming. "It certainly wasn't the night I had planned for all of us."

Her attempt at humor was met with an awkward silence and no smiles aside from the forced one Kitty wore on her lips. Hyde and Jackie exchanged quick side looks as Mrs. Forman took in another big breath and her smile softened with genuineness.

"But thank you for being here," she gently cupped Jackie's head and placed a quick kiss at the top before repeating the actions with Hyde. Only after she'd given Steven his kiss, she continued to hold his face and his uncovered eyes locked with her tearful ones as she repeated one more, "Thank you."

0o0o0o

"Eric, what the hell?" Donna demanded to know as she watched her boyfriend pace around his family's kitchen like a caged animal, his long skinny claws digging into the hair at the top of his head. "Your mom's in the next room bawling her eyes out and you're running away?"

He abruptly stopped his footwork and tore his hands off his head, revealing such a distraught look in his eyes that it nearly scared Donna. "You're right Donna, that's exactly what I'm doing. _I'm running away_! And do you know _why_?" Eric didn't bother to wait for an answer. "Because I can't stand to see my mom crying because of something that I did, okay?"

Donna's dark brows knitted close together. "What're you talking about?"

A strangled cry was muffled from behind Eric's hands that covered his face before he ripped them off again so he could give his painful explanation.

"It's my fault she's crying out there, Donna!" His voice was louder than Donna could ever remember hearing it, it was also the most upset she'd ever heard it. Eric's right hand flew from gesturing towards the swinging door where he'd left his heartbroken mother, to resting against his own broken, guilt-ridden heart. When he spoke again, his tone had softened to just above a whisper. "All this…it's all _my_ _fault_ Donna."

Seeing the way Eric's red blotchy eyes were looking at her in such a sorrowful way, it made Donna's eyes fill with fresh tears. She couldn't believe he was blaming himself for this; she couldn't let him blame himself for this, any of it.

"It was an accident, Eric," she tried to make the statement sound affirmative and strong but there was an unmissable tremor in her tone.

"It was a car accident, Donna." He wasted no time in arguing. "And Red wouldn't have been in the car or on the road if it wasn't for me." Eric's mind was convinced that he was responsible for what had happened to his father and at this point nothing could convince him otherwise. "I was the one who couldn't go to the store, making him go instead. I'm the one who didn't want Spa-Kitty and meatballs. I'm the one who had to have fucking pork chops!"

Eric's rampage wasn't quite over, the moment his words left his mouth he spotted the dark metal pan on the stovetop. It was sitting there empty, waiting for the pork chops that would never come, hauntingly mocking Eric. He shook his head then threw his fist at it causing it to go flying off the oven's surface.

The pan landed on the hard floor with a clanging loud enough to alert Hyde and Jackie who swiftly entered from the other side of the kitchen's swinging door.

"What's goin' on in here?" Hyde asked, his voice sounding its usual calm Zen self but his face gave way to the worry he really felt.

Silence followed the question, the college couple looking at each other, each wondering if the other would say something. But neither one ever did.

"Donna," unable to take the quietness any longer, Jackie turned to her friend. She knew Eric wouldn't hurt an insect (he'd probably be too afraid to go near it) but that crashing sound had been rather loud and alarming. "Are you okay?

She broke the shared eye contact with her boyfriend before turning her attention over to Jackie. "I'm fine, Jackie," giving her reassurance Donna looked between Jackie and especially Hyde as she went on. "Eric's blaming himself for what happened to Red."

Though Eric wasn't upset at Donna for sharing the revelation about him, he wasn't exactly proud of it either. As if he were trying to hide away from the pitying looks he knew he'd face from his friends, Eric turned his head and held his left hand to the side of his face.

He didn't get any kind of looks though. Hyde was focused on Donna and taking in what she'd said while Jackie was focused on Hyde.

Jackie had heard and understood what Donna had said but said nothing because Steven was the one who knew Eric better, he'd know what to do. But the truth was Jackie really did feel bad for Eric, she got where he was coming from thinking things had been his fault, but there was no way they—not even herself—would point fingers at him for Red's death.

Taking his eyes off Donna, Hyde gave a sigh and reached out to place a hand on his best friend's slumped but still tense shoulder. "Come, on man," he tried to coax gently. "Don't do this to yourself, not now."

"Oh, not now?" Eric's fake chipper tone was filled with sarcasm. "Oh, okay. Then how about I pencil it in for about a week from now? Does that work better for you, Hyde?"

Hyde tried not to get to annoyed by his friend's snarky-ness, it was a tough time for everyone and this was Forman's way of coping. But it's not what they needed to deal with right now.

"Eric," Hyde saying his name startled Eric, he hadn't called him Eric since they were kids. "Look man, it's not about us right now. It's about your mom. She's really gonna need us now that Red's gone."

A new wave of anger washed over Eric, he'd have thrown another pan if one had been there but since there wasn't, Eric had to settle for throwing his hands up in the air.

"You don't… _God_ _Hyde_! Don't you get it?" his voice was raised and angry, it was like he was now suddenly blaming Hyde and yelling at him for what had happened. But beneath that anger his voice was quivering with the real emotional mess Eric was feeling. "He's not gone alright? He's dead! Red's dead!"

It was the first time he'd said it out loud...the first time any of them had heard it being said out loud.

Tears pierced everyone's eyes. Jackie's hand covered her mouth and Donna looked up at the ceiling while Eric looked like he was falling apart.

"Hyde," his voice cracked with his tears. "Dad's dead."

Nodding his head, Hyde pulled Eric into a big strong, bear hug that the other man did not resist. It wasn't lost on Hyde either the words Eric had said, or rather not said. He hadn't said 'my dad' he said 'dad' because Red wasn't just Eric's dad he was a dad to Hyde too. He was their dad.

"I know, man. I know," was all Hyde could say, soon feeling Eric's grip on him tighten.

There weren't any loud heartbroken sobs coming from the embrace the two friends shared, but there were plenty of tears coming from Donna and Jackie who stood close by watching the two brothers grieve for the father they'd lost.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little of both? Be sure to let me know in a review! I am still doing sneak peeks just as a reminder :D_

 _I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and maybe can sort of see why I struggled to get past writing this chapter. It gets lighter though, it really does! Thank you again for stopping by to read after all this time, thank you! Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, I'm about halfway done typing it and I'm thinking it will either be up in a week or two, depending on how busy this week is at work and of course if you readers are still interested in reading this fic too :D_

 _Next chapter we'll see more of The Forman house during its first night without Red, and Hyde and Jackie visit a room filled with some old memories._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	15. Chapter 14: A Long Time Ago

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hi everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have for you the next chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" I am so, so incredibly happy and extremely thankful that so many of you are still interested and eager to read more of the story because I've got lots instore! I'm sorry I didn't update last week but work week was a bit hectic, I am going to do my best to go back to a once a week or bi-weekly updates as long as the story still has wonderful readers like you wanting to read the chapters. Sorry for all the tears and tissues in the last chapter you might need one or half of one in this chapter, but I think it's a little less sad than the other chapters. It does focus a little more on JH, so I hope you all enjoy that. Thank you again for the incredible support you've given this story it means SO much! *hugs* Thanks for reading, please do review if you can, I'd love to hear your thoughts, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

* * *

"Okay Kitty, you can do this," Kitty whispered to herself as she stood beside the fully made queen sized bed.

Trying to keep her mind from thinking back to the last time she'd been in this room cuddled in the bed with Red listening to depressing country music, she pulled the blankets down into a flap and sat herself on the mattress before pulling the covers back over her body—not that they'd be bringing her much warmth now.

Her left hand reached out and turned out the lamp on her nightstand only to have it click back on a mere second later. The darkness made the room feel even more lonely. Besides Kitty was sure she'd have no trouble falling asleep with the light on if she just kept her eyes shut.

Kitty settled back against her pillows and closed her eyes, she tried to find enough peace to let her fall asleep by concentrating on her breathing.

It didn't work.

Minutes passed and it was soon getting closer to an hour later but Kitty had yet to fall sleep. She tossed to the right and then the left, she pushed the sheets away from her and then tugged them close to her chin. No matter what Kitty tried she just couldn't get comfortable in her own bed…she wasn't used to it being so empty.

And it didn't help that despite her attempts to block the thought out, Kitty's mind continued to swirl with all the things she would need to do in the upcoming days. Plan a funeral, call up relatives, call Laurie, say goodbye to the man she loved with her whole heart. Every time Kitty shut her eyes, she saw images of bugles playing Taps, of open graves, of a casket with her husband lying inside it.

Tears seeped out of her still shut eyes and rolled down her cheeks, her body trembling slightly.

"Oh Red," Kitty whimpered, reaching out to the empty cold side of the bed to grab the pillow and hug it close. Finding his scent of his cologne and motor oil still fresh in the cushion, she held it closer. "Red…"

The tears she cried were for the most part silent but that didn't make them any less heartrending. Kitty could feel the ache in her chest and she was sure she wouldn't stop crying until she'd dehydrated herself so much she'd have no way to produce anymore tears.

But then she felt it.

A faint pressing on her shoulder as if someone had placed their hand there. However, she never heard the bedroom door squeak open nor did this feel like one of her son's coming in to check on her. What it did feel like was Red. It felt like his hand on her shoulder, the way he'd touch it with such tenderness and give it a small squeeze to assure her everything would be okay.

Kitty had no idea what had caused the sensation but she wasn't questioning it. She was too tired and the thought of feeling her husband's touch once more comforted her enough to allow her to drift off to a calm slumber.

0o0o0o

Hyde and Jackie stepped into the back space of his former bedroom.

"Man, that was tougher than I thought it'd be," He said aloud, visibly tired.

Hyde threw himself on the cot while Jackie allowed herself to sink into the oversized armchair in the room. They had just spent the last few hours helping Donna calm Eric down enough to get him into his childhood bedroom where he and Donna would be spending the night—as originally planned.

"I know," Jackie sighed, she was emotionally and physically drained. "I don't think I've seen Eric this upset since we saw that new _Star_ _Wars_ movie."

Though Forman's reaction to finding out Luke Skywalker's family secrets had been hilarious, Hyde didn't think the reminder or comparison of it to the current situation very entertaining.

"Come on, Jackie. The guy's dad just died."

"Right, right," the brunette bowed her head with guilt, "I'm sorry. I think I was standing too close to Eric and now some of his awkward geek talk is just like, spilling out of my mouth."

The corners of Hyde's mouth twitched, even more so when he saw the grimacing expression squished on Jackie's face. "See, that's a good one."

A faint smile made its way to Jackie's lips but Hyde could barely manage a shadow of one, he just nodded his head up and down. Soon her own smile faded and they were left in the everlasting silence.

"Well, it's getting late. I should you know, probably get going." Jackie was already standing from her seat but had yet to walk to the room's exit which was less than a few steps away. She felt guilty just leaving him like this. "I…um, I'll be back in the morning. I'll even pick up breakfast for everyone. Like a box of donuts or something."

Her offer of a sweet breakfast food had been a tact on attempt to make up for leaving him and Eric and Mrs. Forman; but from the Zen expression on Steven's face it was hard to tell if it had helped any.

"Or something else," he finally said, his tone sounding rather different.

Jackie frowned for a moment before it dawned on her. "Oh right. Fez overeats when he's depressed. I'll bring two boxes."

"I'm not talking about the damn breakfast, Jackie," grumbled Hyde, upset that he was having to say this. For a moment he considered not saying it at all, but after giving a loud heavy sigh that slightly startled Jackie, he found himself speaking again. "Look, I said or something else like….you doing something else instead of takin' off."

She swallowed as she took in what he was saying, or trying to say. "You mean like me staying? Here?"

"Yeah," Hyde replied but his gaze was down on the floor.

As guilty as Jackie felt for having to leave the family during this difficult time, she really couldn't find a valid reason for her to stay. Fez and Michael had gone back to their own homes after they all left the medical examiner's office. Eric and Hyde were staying at the house tonight because their place at this time was with their mother. Kitty needed to have them close. And Donna was Eric's girlfriend and Eric needed her there with him.

No one needed Jackie there…at least that's what she believed.

"I don't wanna impose. I mean there's no room for me to stay here..." she started to say before quickly and firmly adding with a pointed finger, "And before you even suggest it, I am not staying in that whore house known as Laurie Forman's room." Jackie could have sworn she saw his upper lip twitch into a smirk but she spoke on before she could decide. "It's just easier if I go back to my apartment and come back in the morning…"

"You could stay here," his interruption was unexpected.

"In here?"

"Yeah."

Jackie took a deep breath, unsure of how she'd get the next words out but knowing she had to. "Steven…I…I don't think that would be a very good idea…"

"You know what, forget it." This time his interruptions did not come as a surprise, nor did his abrupt tone. He turned his head to the old cot that had once belonged to Red. "Look, just drop it and pretend I never said anything. See you in the morin'."

"Steven, would you let me finish?" Jackie was determined to cut his pity party short. "I was going to say I don't think that would be a very good idea but," she shrugged her shoulders and smiled sleepishly. "Since when do we ever do anything that was a good idea?"

Hyde managed to show his agreement with a smirk.

"And I know, you don't wanna be alone right now," Jackie stepped away from the chair and began to walk towards Hyde.

"It's not that…"he argued, though still scooted over to make room for her to sit on the cot too.

"Yes, it is, Steven. And that's okay," she covered his hands, he had laced together with one of her own, at last getting him to lock eyes with her. "I don't wanna be alone either."

"We could not be alone, together," he suggested and Jackie's eyebrows rose with shock.

She couldn't help but wonder if he remembered her saying a similar statement before their Veteran's Day Date years ago. She did and it made her softly shake her head at her young naïve self.

He shook his head as if just hearing what he'd said, "Man, you were right about Forman bein' able to rub off on you."

She nodded in agreement. "Steven, if you want me to stay, I'll stay."

Staring into her brown waiting eyes, Hyde knew what she was telling him. She'd stay, just as she promised but she needed to hear him say the words. Normally he would have stayed quiet, said something else along the lines, but he'd already left plenty of other things unsaid. And he really didn't want her to go.

"I want you to stay."

"Then I'll stay."

Jackie gave him small smile to reassure her words while Hyde showed his thanks by nodding his head and trying to smile.

The pair continued to sit in a nervous kind of silence. As much as neither wanted to be away from the other at this time, it was somewhat difficult to sit alone together without thinking back to the last moments they'd shared alone together earlier that night. It hadn't been pretty—and that was before they'd found the scene of Red's accident.

While they had both said hurtful things to the other, Hyde knew his words must have stung Jackie more than hers had gotten him. He'd built up a tolerance for spiteful words by growing up with Edna, Jackie was much more of the sensitive type especially when it came to things like Sam. It had created a giant rift between them that they were just starting to work around, the last thing they or their friends needed right now was the rift being torn back open.

Hyde anxiously scratched the back of his curly head, "Listen Jackie, about what was said in the El Camino…"

"Steven," she cut him off before he could repeat what had been said—it really didn't need any repeating. "We don't need to talk about that."

"We don't?" Hyde was more than surprised at hearing this. Jackie Burkhart not wanting to talk about something? This had to fall somewhere along the lines of a miracle, and they could really use a bright spot right now.

"I mean we _will_ have to talk about it _eventually_ ," Jackie made sure to clarify, you couldn't keep broken dishes hidden under a rug for too long, someone always ended up tripping over them and getting hurt. "But we don't need to talk about it tonight. What was said in the El Camino, Steven, that doesn't matter right now. _None_ of that matters right now."

Jackie tried to emphasize the word as much as she could and it wasn't lost on Hyde. She didn't want to fight with him right now, she was too tired, too sad, and if they discussed things now it was sure to turn into a big fight that might be even harder to move past. Now wasn't the time to worry about themselves or what'd they'd said to the other, it might be hard at times to forget what the other had said but right now the only things that mattered was Forman, Mrs. Forman, and the fact that the patriarch of their mismatched family was now gone.

When Steven remained quiet, Jackie took his silence as an agreement. He wasn't feeling up to decking it out either, he was tired—she could tell.

As Jackie watched him rub his weary eyes she noted once again that he was still not wearing his infamous shades. However, it was only at this moment that Jackie realized how many times she'd noticed him not wearing his shades tonight—each time being part of a situation he would have normally hid his emotions behind his sunglasses.

The last time Jackie could recall seeing the aviator glasses resting on the bridge of Steven's nose was just before she'd driven off in his Camino to get help. There had been one other time she remembered seeing the glasses after that, when she'd spotted them tossed off in the white slush not far from where Mr. Forman's body had been retrieved from. She had meant to grab them but between the shock, chaos, and tears retrieving the eyewear had slipped her mind.

Her heart ached for her ex-boyfriend. He could no longer touch one of his jackets anymore, his beloved aviators were probably buried in the snow somewhere, and to top it off he'd lost the man he'd for so long considered his father.

Steven was focusing on looking out for others, Mrs. Forman and Eric especially. Jackie could understand why he was doing this but wanted to make sure someone was looking out for him too. Even if that person had to be herself.

"Steven, do you…do you wanna talk about what happened out there with…"

"No," his interruption was firm. Thinking, talking about what happened out on that snowy roadside was the last thing he wanted to do. "No, I don't."

Jackie nodded her head, knowing it was wise not to push him too much right now, he could push back, "Okay."

A long-silenced pause followed, one that was much too long for Jackie's liking and she made this known with her own loud sigh.

"Well if you're not gonna talk, what are we gonna do?"

Hyde lifted his head to look at her and shrugged, "We could do what we used to do when we were alone down here."

His casualness at bringing this suggestion up, shocked Jackie. The fact that he'd brought it up in the first place at a moment like was almost unbelievable. However, any outrage she could feel building up soon diminished when she spotted his smirk twitching on his lips.

"You pig!" she scolded, fighting back her own smile as she reached out to swat him.

"Not that," Hyde recoiled from her hit, his voice having a lightness that suddenly sounded more uncertain as he went on. "I meant that thing we used to do where you'd talk and go on yapping your pie hole and I'd, ya know, pretend to listen."

She shook her head but smiled. He could deny it all he wanted but she knew he had always been listening, even when she spilled the latest gossiped happenings of Point Place High School.

"I guess that would be nice," Jackie agreed, not surprising anyone. How could Jackie ever pass up to opportunity to talk about anything she wanted? Tonight though, there was only one thing she felt like talking about. "I could talk about Mr. Forman…Like, oh!" her dark eyes lit up at the appearance of an old memory. "Like the time I spent the day with him working on Eric's car in the garage while everyone else was at career day."

Scratching at his left sideburn, Hyde shifted in his seat. He wasn't used to talkin' about Red this way, recalling good times had with the man, it was a hard thing to get used to. The only thing more difficult to wrap his mind around was that the reason they were reminiscing about Red because he was dead.

"Yeah, I was there for some of that," he reminded, his own thoughts had taken a trip down memory lane to the conversation he'd had that day with Red about Edna.

Red had always been good at giving advice, even if he tried to make it seem like he didn't want to or wasn't trying to. He'd call you a dumbass too but that was all part of his way of making sure his message got through to you. And for Hyde, it just about did every time. They were still growing up though, without Red here to advise them and call them dumbasses anymore, they were sure to become those very things.

"Oh," Jackie's face fell, it was her favorite memory she had of Red but didn't need repeating if Steven knew it already.

Hyde could see her obvious disappointment. "You could still talk about it. If you want."

Jackie's smile stretched on her lips once again and she straightened her posture before beginning her story. "Well, it was career day for all the juniors and because I was a sophomore, I was the only one who didn't have anywhere to go. I found Mr. Forman working in the garage because he was working part time then." She was telling her story as if she were on one of those cheesy daytime talk shows, "Neither one of us had anywhere to be but it was like finding each other and spending time together made us forget that there was no place for us to go. I know spending that afternoon with Mr. Forman made me forget I was alone."

"He handed me a flashlight and told me hold it for him while he looked under the hood," continued Jackie, the corners of her mouth inching upwards and Hyde's slowly mirrored it. "It was such a simple task, you know? But when I did it, Mr. Forman said…and I'll never forget this, 'My God. One of you is not useless,' I'm pretty sure it was a compliment."

"Yeah," Hyde chuckled, he could hear his adopted father's voice in those words. "Genuine Red Forman compliment. They're one of a kind, alright."

She was practically bursting with happiness. "Right? He just had _this_ …this way about him that when he gave you a compliment, in any kind of form, you knew he meant it."

Her mind was no longer thinking back to that time in the garage on that career day but also to the other times she'd spent in the garage learning about cars from Red. The fun she'd had that first time, made her come back a few times later. Jackie enjoyed learning from Red and he liked sharing his car knowledge to someone who actually wanted to listen and would sometimes even teach him a thing or two. That was Jackie's favorite, those moments when she did or said something that impressed Red.

Their relationship went beyond cars too. Her senior year of high school she could recall how the first person she had proudly showed off her test scores and reports was Red. He'd gripe and ask why she was showing this to him, but Jackie would catch that smile trying to twitch its way into place. And when Jackie had shared that she'd be graduating top of her class, Red told her that he'd know she was the smartest one of those dumbasses down in the basement.

"And you could tell that he was proud of you," Jackie continued, her eyes prickling with stinging tears. "And that…he, he'd made you feel proud and…and special."

Jackie suddenly bent her head as she let herself have a good cry.

"Jackie, come on, man," Hyde scooted closer and placed a comforting arm over her hunched back.

"I know, I know," she sniffled, lifting her head and wiping her still tearful eyes. "Shut my pie hole."

Hyde knew Red and Jackie shared a special bond, he'd been there on day one and saw some of it while they'd been dating, but that didn't mean he wanted to see Jackie crying over his memory. All these years, whether they were together or not, he still couldn't stand to see her cry.

"Come on, don't cry," he tried to soothe, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hey, I know somethin' that'll make you feel better."

"What?" she sniffled, her red eyes locking on his blue ones.

The strand fell forward again and Hyde brushed it out of the way once again. "You were right."

Her brow furrowed, his words had certainly stopped her sadness but only because they'd replaced it with confusion.

"About?"

He shrugged and just barely smirking replied, "I admitted you were right, isn't that enough?"

Jackie opened her mouth, ready to protest—of course it wasn't enough, Jackie Burkhart liked details, specifics, she wanted to know what she was right about—but Hyde had taken over the conversation before she could voice a word.

"Hey, you ever hear about the time Red and me sold drugs over at his lodge?"

"What?" Jackie's eyes nearly bulged out of her head. Steven was selling drugs? Mr. Forman was selling drugs? Mr. Forman belonged to a lodge? She shook her head, her mind unable to create such an insane image. "That, that doesn't even sound like either one of you."

Hyde gave a sort of short snort of a laugh, he'd been there but completely understood how unbelievable it sounded. "Yeah, it was pretty crazy."

It wasn't one of his favorite memories he had of Red, but it was one Jackie hadn't heard or been there for and it already seemed to be taking her mind off things for a bit so he continued with his story.

"So Red's doctor told him he could go off his heart pills but he'd just bought a six month supply of it 'em or somethin' and was out a couple hundred bucks…"

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 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you all liked the chapter and it wasn't too tear jerking. We're moving towards the lighter stuff I promise, it's just a little bit more :)_

 _Next chapter it's the first morning without Red. We'll find out if Jackie stayed the whole night with Hyde, and the group of friends will come together as Kitty begins going through one of the five stages of grief._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	16. Chapter 15: On and On

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing._

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! Long time no see huh? Very sorry about that, busy stuff in real life and work got in the way of writing and for several weeks of April I was sick off and mostly on again. But I'm back now and the good news is it's almost summer break which means I can get back to my usual late night writing sessions and hopefully more frequent updates, the good stuff is coming up! In the meantime though, I want to thank you all for your amazing support and patience, it means so very much. Thank you, thank you, thank you! This chapter is a little bit longer than the usual chapters so hopefully it makes up a bit for the late update, I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as I can, hopefully before summer break starts. Keep your fingers crossed! Hope you all like this chapter, please do review if you can, I'd love to hear your thoughts, even if you haven't reviewed before, don't be shy! Thank you again for the wonderful support, hope you like, please review, and as always, Enjoy!_

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Despite how long the previous night had been the next morning had finally broken over The Forman home.

Jackie slowly sat herself up and winced at the sharp ache in her lower back. Either last night must have aged her more than she thought it had or her back just wasn't used to sleeping in an old army cot anymore. A quick glance at the rickety alarm clock in Steven's old room told her it was ten after 5 A.M. which having spent several nights with that clock and its owner, told Jackie that it was really a quarter to 9 A.M.

It was much too early for anyone to be up on a Saturday morning, especially when you'd only gone to bed four hours before like she and Hyde had done; and yet, she found herself alone in the little hideaway bedroom.

Wanting to keep her word to Steven and also help Mrs. Forman out, Jackie scampered off the cot, gathered her things, and headed out of the room hoping she still had enough time to leave the house and go pick up some fast food breakfast for the group.

As she stepped into the main basement area, while debating over whether or not to put her heeled boots on now or waiting till she got closer to the home's exit, Jackie startled and nearly dropped her shoes at the sight of what she found on the beat-up sofa…or rather _who_ she found on that old sofa.

Steven was nestled up against the armrest that had less duct tape, a dark green fleece blanket covered most his body, aside from his head and shoulders. He was sleeping but his brow sunk into a light furrow. It could have been due to the fact that the couch was even more uncomfortable than the rollaway bed, but Jackie was sure it went beyond that.

Still she found herself touched that he had opted to take the sofa, and the more unpleasant of the two sleeping places, when she distinctly remembered drifting off to sleep with her head resting on his shoulder.

With her free hand, Jackie tugged the blanket to cover up that same shoulder before carefully grabbing her purse off the spool table and quietly continuing her way upstairs.

Her arms were full of her belongings: her boots, her coat, and purse, but she kept her grip strong and crept out of the basement. At the top of the basement steps, Jackie listened carefully for any signs that the rest of the household was up but the silence told her she could run out to grab that box of donuts.

Looking more like a burglar trying to get away with an armful of designer accessories than someone who was trying to sneak away to do a good deed, Jackie tiptoed past the doorway that separated the basement from the kitchen.

"Good morning, Jackie."

Jackie felt like a deer caught in headlights. She was wide eyed, too spooked to move out of the line of vision of her headlights that were known as Kitty Forman.

"Mrs. Forman," she greeted nervously, straightening her back so it wouldn't look too much like she was trying to sneak out of the house. Out of the basement. Out of the basement where Steven was staying…Oh my God! Jackie's big eyes doubled in size and she just about dropped all her things, "It's not what it looks like!"

Standing at the stove in her pink robe and nightgown, Kitty rose both eyebrows. "Oh? And what am I thinking?"

"Uh…"

The brunette didn't know what to say. Mrs. Forman didn't know she had spent the night there with Steven, not _with_ Steven but with him….Jackie didn't want to try to explain that to her. Even if she tried, Jackie knew Kitty would somehow hear it all with her matchmaker ears and the simple innocent explanation might give the older woman false hope for something that could never again happen…The hope could possibly take Mrs. Forman's mind off her grief for a moment but it wouldn't be something Steven would be very happy about.

"Um, you're thinking, something that didn't happen," Jackie said, feeling more confidence with each word. "I was just coming in from the basement instead of the kitchen or front door so as not to disturb everyone else in the house," she tried to make her lie sound as polite as possible. "I thought you'd still be sleeping."

"Well that was very considerate of you Jackie," Kitty's praise made Jackie smile until she went on, "What about Steven?"

Panic set in again.

"What about Steven?" Jackie nervously answered the question with the same question.

Kitty did her best to contain her amusement. These kids really were something else. "You didn't disturb him?"

"Oh!" a large loud sound of relief came from Jackie but she quickly toned it down a few notches to a more aloof state. "Oh no, no. Steven sleeps like a log."

"Well, that's good," Kitty nodded her head and returned to her task. A task Jackie had failed to notice until that moment.

Mrs. Forman was making breakfast. She had made breakfast and was still making _more_ breakfast. And this was not just breakfast as in the usual pancakes and scrambled eggs with a few pieces of bacon, this was the kind of breakfast spread Jackie saw in brochures for five star hotels!

There were biscuits, sausage, bacon, three different kinds of muffins (at least a dozen of each), scrambled eggs, hash browns, French toast, eggs over easy, fresh squeezed orange juice, hot coffee and were those Swedish pancakes? This was all homemade, all made by Kitty, Jackie knew it; she could smell that yummy homemade aroma filling the kitchen. She'd caught a whiff of it earlier but passed it off as the usual sweet warm aroma that filled the Forman home.

Not only did the food smell good it looked delicious and made Jackie's stomach grumble in a very unladylike fashion. The breakfast spread put an ache in both her stomach and her heart. Jackie hated that Kitty had gone through the trouble of making all of this for them, especially when the woman was dealing with her own heartache.

"Mrs. Forman, I was actually gonna go out get everyone some breakfast. Like donuts or something," she touched Kitty's arm stopping the circular movements she was moving the wooden mixing spoon. "So you don't have to keep cooking, why don't you go sit down?"

"Sweetie, don't be silly," tsked Kitty, gently moved away from the younger girl's hold but smiled. "Now, as sweet as your thought was, both figurately and literally," she giggled loudly making Jackie smile back awkwardly. "We have so much to do today, Jackie. We are going to need a lot more than just sugary treats to keep us going. Which is why I am making us a hearty, _because it's made from the heart_ , Kitty Forman Breakfast!"

As terrible as it made Jackie feel to see Mrs. Forman making such a big meal for everyone, she knew it would feel even worse if she were the one who told her to stop making all this food.

"Okay," Jackie continued to feel a bit uneasy. "If you're sure…"

"Positive," affirmed Kitty.

Moving her head in a nodding movement, Jackie gave a faint smile while allowing her eyes to glance over the well-prepared breakfast Mrs. Forman had cooked up so far. "It looks great, Mrs. Forman. Have you been working on it long?"

"Oh since about five this morning," she said it as if weren't a big deal, gracefully switching from pouring waffle batter into the machine to whisking up scrambled eggs in a bowl.

Five this morning? That meant Kitty had been cooking breakfast for the almost four hours and was still going! It also meant that she'd started cooking just a little after Jackie and Hyde had finally fallen asleep and just a few hours after Kitty herself had headed off to bed.

"You couldn't sleep," Jackie's guess was voiced with sympathy; it broke her heart to think of Mrs. Forman upstairs in that bedroom all alone.

Kitty stopped whisking the yellow liquid and looked up with a tight smile on her lips. "You know, I had heard such horror stories about the first night you have to sleep alone but it, it really wasn't as horrible as I was afraid it would be."

Mrs. Forman sharing this with her made Jackie feel a little better. It also made her feel very special that she was the one who Kitty was sharing these details with.

"I suppose being a nurse sort of helped prepare me for sleeping without Red," Kitty went on to share, "What with all the different shifts I would work. Sometimes I'd be going to sleep just as he was getting up and other times he'd be getting into bed and I'd be leaving to the hospital." A small smile appeared on her lips as her mind recalled a memory. "You know, during our first year of marriage, for a whole month we never went to bed together at the same time. Last night really wasn't _too_ terrible because I didn't feel all that alone when I was in bed."

Jackie's brows furrowed a tad. "You didn't?"

For a moment, Kitty considered telling Jackie what she'd felt last night in her and Red's room, how she'd felt his presence there comforting her, but stopped herself from saying too much. She was already going to be classified as a grieving widow for the next few weeks, the last thing she needed was adding the word insane to the list.

"Well, I knew you kids were in were in the house. That really did help," she fibbed, then to avoid being caught in her lie she continued to speak. "I didn't miss him as much last night, I just pretended I had just worked a late shift at the hospital. But when morning came…I did miss his kiss on my forehead telling me he was leaving for work."

The two women shared misty eyed smiles, however, before another word could be said the kitchen door was swung open from the living room.

Kitty used the sides of her hands to wipe the tears that had rolled to her cheeks then turned to visit her guests. "Well there are the two love birds," she sounded as cheerful as she could when she spotted her son and his long-time girlfriend at the doorway. "Good morning, you two."

"Good morning, Mrs. Forman," Donna replied, almost shyly.

Eric didn't return his mother's morning greeting. Instead he wordlessly stepped towards her and slowly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a big hug. Kitty was surprised by the embrace, pleasantly surprised but surprised nonetheless. It wasn't a tight, heartbroken hug like the one they'd shared last night in the morgue, nor was it an awkward forced hug. This hug had lots of love and comfort and it was just the kind of hug Kitty needed right now.

"Morning, Mom," he muffled into her shoulder, feeling her arms wrap around him.

They continued to stand like that for a several more moments, Donna and Jackie silently watching on from their own spots in the kitchen. When mother and son at last pulled away from the other, they did so slowly and carefully. Kitty reached up to cup his left cheek immediately, stroking it tenderly with her thumb while looking into his sad eyes with her own and silently thanking him in the form of a tightlipped smile.

He squeezed her hand with his own before gently removing it from his face; his silent 'you're welcome.'

"Well, ok, now," Kitty cleared her throat hoping to make her voice sound less tearful. "What would you kids like for breakfast? Pancakes or waffles?"

Donna looked at various breakfast foods, "Um…"

"Both it is!" declared Kitty, having not waited more than three seconds for a response. "Now there are a few dozen waffles and pancakes over here that have already been made; blueberry, chocolate chip, apple, and plain, but I'll get started on some fresh ones right away."

"Mrs. Forman, you don't have to do that…" Donna attempted to argue.

Kitty, however, was already back to work at taking the ready waffles out of the waffle iron. "Oh nonsense."

"Well do you need any help with anything?" it made Donna feel useless just standing there while Kitty bustled about making breakfast for everyone.

"No, no dear, I've got it all under control. You just go sit down," the blonde waved her hand to shoo the standing pair towards the table. "Go on, now."

Doing what they were told, Eric and a slightly reluctant Donna made their way to where Jackie was now sitting and took their own seats at the breakfast nook.

"Hey Jackie," Donna sounded like she had just now noticed her friend in the room. "What're you doing here so early?"

"I wanted to try to help out but…" Jackie drifted off and gave a sort of look that said 'you know how that goes' which really wasn't too big of a lie.

Stealing a quick look over her shoulder at Kitty, Donna nodded, "Yeah."

Jackie glanced at her second breakfast companion, he looked so down that she tried to cheer him up the only way she knew how. "Hey, Geek Face."

"Hey Jackie," came his meek reply.

"That's it?" she couldn't believe it. This was they're thing, throwing zingers at each other but now Eric's seemed to have lost his zing. She tried to help him. "No, 'Hey Devil' or 'Wicked Witch of Wisconsin' line?"

Eric shrugged, "Sorry. Raincheck?"

"Okay," Jackie nodded, feeling bad for the guy—which was something she wasn't used to, at least not when it concerned Eric Forman.

Donna slouched her shoulders and wrung her hands together under the table. "It feels weird just like sitting here," her words were said for more than one reason but catching a glimpse of Mrs. Forman at the stove kept her focus on one single one. "I feel like we should be helping out. Did you try to help her?"

"Of course, I tried to help her, Donna. I tried, you try," Jackie was mildly irritated that her best friend would think she wouldn't have offered to help Kitty out; Jackie Burkhart was a lot of things and compassionate was one of them…maybe not always her strongest suit but at least in the top ten!

Kitty giddily approached the white round table like it was any other morning at The Forman home. In her arms were three large plates filled up with stacks of pancakes and other delicious breakfast sides. Donna could almost swear she heard the older woman humming as she set a heaping pile of food in front of her then Jackie and finally Eric.

"Dig in!" she clasped her palms together if just for a moment. "Oh, but now, don't go getting filled up just yet. There's plenty more where that came from."

As spectacular as the food looked, Donna couldn't help but feel concerned for the chef who'd spent so much time and energy in making it—and the food that was still yet to come.

"Mrs. Forman is there anything you want us to do while you work on breakfast?"

"Oh, of course there is," Kitty said and Donna smiled, ready to take any funeral planning task off the woman's hands. "I want you to eat all the pancakes to your little tummy's content!"

The mother hen ended her statement with one of her giggles before she turned on her slipper's heel and headed back over to the stove. As Donna's face fell Jackie gave her friend a look and shoulder shrug that said, 'I told you so.' Her glee was short-lived though when she noticed the way Donna was looking at her. She was frowning but not in the 'I'm annoyed with you' kind of way but more like the 'something's not right here' kind of way.

"What?" Jackie tried not to snap.

Donna's eyes traveled from Jackie's face to her blouse and then back up again. "You're wearing the same shirt you wore yesterday."

"Yeah, so?" The brunette remembered her Zen training and for good measure pulled the hem of the top to rid any of it's wrinkles. "I like this shirt."

"So much that you bought two?" Donna's hooked eyebrow made it obvious she wasn't buying into this for a second.

"Oh Donna, please, you're one to talk. You own five of the same plaid shirts and three aren't even pretty!" she'd dropped her Zen, this was all Burkhart but it still got her the same look of disbelief from the redhead; which annoyed Jackie even more, she sent a snarling glare. "Oh, just shut your pie hole with your pancakes."

Again, the redhead furrowed her brow but before she could say any more a shuffling from the back corner of the kitchen was heard.

"Mornin'," Hyde's groggy voice told of how little sleep he'd gotten the night before.

Turning her head, Kitty flashed him a smile. "Oh, good morning, Steven."

"Mornin' Mrs. Forman," he said again, unable to hide his shock at finding her in the kitchen, smiling and cooking breakfast. He'd been prepared to find her taken to her bed for the next few days and having to help Forman with the upcoming stuff. "How…"

"How would you like your eggs, sweetie?" Kitty interrupted his question with one of her own. "I can do scrambled, sunny side up, or I could make you an omelet. I'll do all three!" she announced, not giving Hyde much for a chance to make a choice, she then nudged him towards the table with the others. "Go, sit, sit."

Hyde was so confused he wasn't sure what to say but did manage a "Uh, thanks."

Then he joined his friends at the table, taking quick glances at Mrs. Forman as he did this. She looked okay, even a bit happy, but with just losing her husband, Hyde was positive that wouldn't last. The smile she wore had to be a façade she thought she had to put on for them. Hyde took the empty seat at Eric's left, across from Jackie who he soon turned his attention to.

"Jackie, man, I thought you were brinin' donuts for breakfast?"

Despite the phrasing and tone he'd used, Jackie knew Hyde wasn't pointing the finger at her; he was concerned about Mrs. Forman. His wording may have asked why she hadn't gone out for breakfast but his real question was why were they letting Kitty fix them breakfast?

"Wait," Donna's suspicions cut off Jackie's explanation. "How does Hyde know about you getting donuts?"

Irritated by her friend's questioning, Jackie made her reply quick and simple. "We talked about it last night."

"Steven, honey," Kitty approached the table, another plate in her hands, making Jackie thankful for her step in. "It was a sweet thought, but like I told Jackie, we have a lot to do today, we can't do it all on a stomach full of only donuts. We need some real breakfast food. Here have some waffles."

Kitty then placed the plate of a stack of waffles that would be considered a lot more than an amount described as 'some.' Hyde could only stare at the food.

"Don't fill up on waffles, your eggs on their way," was called over Kitty's shoulder as she headed back to the stovetop.

As soon as Kitty was out of earshot, Hyde slumped his shoulders a bit and leaned forward while darting his eyes at the others at the table. "What the hell's goin' on here?" his voice was a mix of a hiss and whisper.

Jackie made sure Mrs. Forman was preoccupied before whispering her response. "I think she's in denial."

"It is one of the first stages of grief," Donna commented, she wasn't whispering but did try to keep her voice at a lower volume.

"You guys are so clueless," scoffed Eric, taking a break from his pancakes to shake his head. "Mom's not in denial, this is the way she copes with things. Especially death. There's even a saying about it," he explained, not even bothering to adjust his speaking volume; he knew his mom wasn't paying them any attention. "When someone dies, Mom bakes up some pies."

Both Donna and Jackie grimaced at the morbid slogan while Hyde bobbed his head up and down. He'd forgotten about that Forman Family saying.

"You guys remember when Grandma Forman died," Eric continued, digging his fork into the syrup soaked breading. "It was like living inside a Nestle Toll House Factory."

"So what do we do?" Jackie wanted to know, she really did want to help.

"There's nothing we can do expect enjoy whatever Mom cooks up," explained Eric, validating his point by helping himself to another forkful of his breakfast.

Donna scowled deeply at her boyfriend. "Eric, you're just gonna let your mom bake herself into depression?"

"Donna, she's not gonna get depressed," he tried to assure her. Eric appreciated Donna, Hyde, and even Jackie looking out for his mom but he knew her better than they did. "So's long as we keep the eggs, flour, and butter stocked up she'll just keep going and going."

Giving an exasperated eyeroll, Donna's frown deepened and remained directed at her boyfriend. "She's not dealing with her emotions about losing your dad, Eric. That's not healthy."

"Okay, but Donna, think about this: since when has my family ever done anything healthy?" Eric pointed out with his question.

"Look, I'm all for suppressing and ignoring emotions and everything," shared Hyde, surprising the others at the table more than a bit. However, he felt he had to say something, this was about Mrs. Forman and Donna looked to be getting pretty frustrated with Forman. "But seeing Mrs. Forman doin' it…I don't know, it gives me the heebie-jeebies, man."

Jackie wasn't sure what surprised her more, Steven wanting someone to express their feelings and emotions or Steven using the term 'heebie-jeebies.' The second one definitely got a smile out of her.

"Heebie-jeebies, Steven?" Jackie repeated, she managed to contain her smile but her tone was teasing.

The uneasy, concerned expression on Hyde's face fell into a flat, expressionless face of Zen as he stared back at his ex. "Shut your pie hole."

Hyde's comment practically pulled Donna's attention. That's just what Jackie told her just a few minutes ago! Were they starting to sound like each other again? The last time that had happened was…Donna's eyes widened before her brow furrowed into a deeper, harsher frown as she began to make connections. She wordlessly stared at Hyde before her gaze followed Jackie who was walking over to the oven to speak with Kitty.

"Um, Mrs. Forman," Jackie twisted her intertwined fingers. "Remember last night when I told you I could start making all those phone calls for you? Well, I just wanted to let you know that the offer still stands."

Kitty slowed the whisking her right hand was currently doing but didn't stop the motions. "Oh Jackie, that's very sweet of you, dear. Thank you." Her small smile was returned by Jackie. "I'll get you all that you'll need, after breakfast."

Quickly Jackie's smile dropped and she turned back to the table, asking for some backup assistance. Kitty's cooking continued to steal her attention from the rest of the happenings around her, causing her to miss the pleading look Jackie was sending the others; she just went back to beating her eggs.

Watching the two women, Hyde had little resistance as he stood up and approached the pair.

"Or uh, Mrs. Forman," he said her name to make sure she was listening and received a quick moment of eye contact and a flash of a smile before her gaze returned to the yellow mixture in the bowl. At this moment, Hyde knew that was the best he was gonna get, "Or, you could tell me where the stuff's at and I'll get it for Jackie and you can finish up here."

She stopped her mixing to give a knowing smile. " _Or_ we could wait until _after_ breakfast."

The tone Kitty used was one that you definitely did not argue with. Hyde and Jackie exchanged looks, both knowing there wasn't anything they could do with this idea now. They were going to have to come up with another one and so they sat back down to start brainstorming.

As Jackie and Hyde reclaimed their seats, Donna got up to try her own hand at things.

"Mrs. Forman, I…" she began, hating how nervous she felt talking to the woman who'd been like a second mom to her. "You can feel free to say no if you want to, but I wanted to let you know that if you'd like, I could write up Mr. Forman's obituary for you."

In the next instant Kitty finally stopped her whisking but the absence of the wired kitchen tool scraping the plastic bowl created a deafening silence. Everyone held their breath unsure of what was to follow this mention of an obituary for Red, something that was practically a declaration to all of Point Place that Red Forman was dead. This couldn't have been easy for Kitty to hear, let alone talk about now.

Donna felt terrible, even worse when Mrs. Forman looked at her with tear brimmed eyes.

"You will?" emotion was thick in Kitty's voice, but a heartened kind of emotion. After all, she knew how skillful the woman was with a pen and paper. "Oh Donna, that would be so lovely. Thank you."

Now feeling much more relieved and relaxed, Donna smiled. "You're welcome…"

She was just about to ask some more information about things Kitty might want included in the mini biography when she was promptly interrupted.

"And you can get started on it right after breakfast," Kitty declared just before she went back to working on the food.

The redhead's shoulders drooped, disappointed that her own attempt to help Mrs. Forman hadn't worked either. Slowly she made her way back to the table to join Hyde and Jackie in figuring out what they could do next.

Eric was digging into his pancakes, swallowing another mouthful he looked over his shoulder at his mother. "Hey Mom, have you tried getting a hold of Laurie yet?"

The waffle iron shut with a loud hard slam, it felt like it'd shaken the house. Though it may not have shaken the foundation, it had shaken the occupants, filling them with great alarm and concern, not only for the kitchen appliance but mostly for the woman who owned it.

"What part of ' _after_ _breakfast'_ don't you people gosh darn understand?!" Kitty demanded to know, a sort of crazed look in her eyes, her loose messy curls loosing even more of their form. "I know I have a lot to do. Boy, do I know I have a lot to do. I'm not even sure that I can do it all! But the thing I am sure I can do is cook up a nice big meal for you kids because I was unable to do so last night."

Eyes shifted downwards, feeling guilty that they'd caused this outburst from Kitty when all she was trying to do was take care of them.

Kitty took in a big deep breath and smiled again. "Now, we will get to all those other things, we will. _After_ _breakfast_. Understood?"

"Okay," nodded Hyde.

"Sure."

Donna agreed with, "Yes, Mrs. Forman."

"The waffles smell great, Mom," came Eric's reply.

A genuine grin sprung to Kitty's lips, "Thank you, sweetie."

And just like that things went on like everything was normal…well as normal as things could be without Red there. Though the man wasn't one to sit with them for very long, even in his own kitchen, his presence now in the kitchen and in the house, was hard to ignore. Jackie had a feeling it would be like this for a while, it might get so bad they'd start hanging out there less—finally granting Mr. Forman his wish.

"Hey, Mrs. Forman," a new voice greeted with more cheerfulness.

"Good morning, boys," Kitty was happy to see Fez and Michael Kelso stepping into her house; they could always make her laugh. "Grab a plate, I'll have a stack of pancakes ready for each of you in just a minute.

"Oo yummy!" Fez's eyes lit up and he scurried over to the counter.

Kelso also felt his stomach rumbling at the prospect of some delicious pancakes, the smell alone was heavenly! However, before he went to grab his plate, the taller man remembered the item he had carried into the house with him,

"Oh, and we got your newspaper for you," he announced just before tossing it onto the kitchen table.

Kitty watched as the paper landed with a flop, right in front of the seat that Red usually occupied. The seat that was now empty. Countless number of times, Red could be found sitting in the kitchen, in that seat, reading the newspaper. But now they would never see him sitting there again, he would never read another newspaper again.

"Excuse me," Kitty had barely managed to say before she covered her mouth and fled the kitchen through the swinging door. "I'm, I'm sorry."

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 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and it wasn't too long…or short either. Not too sad either, I hope, we're getting to the lighter stuff soon :)_

 _In the next chapter, we'll see Donna and Jackie find out where Kitty went, have a heart to heart with her, and try to help her get ready to say her goodbyes to Red._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	17. Chapter 16: As Tears Go By

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! Today is a very special day, and not just because I've got a new chapter for you. You see one year ago today I started posting this fic! Can't believe it's already been a year! Unfortunately I'm not as far ahead as I would like to be BUT I'm not as far behind as I was afraid I would be. In honor of the anniversary I would like to thank all of you for the amazing and incredible support you have given this story, whether its by reviewing it, adding it to your favorites, or even adding it too your alerts. Thank you! And a very big, big thank you to all of you who have been following the story since the very beginning. I know I've lost a few readers along the way but to you loyal readers who have stuck with the story for a whole year and continued to support me THANK YOU! You are the best! *hug* Hope you all enjoy this chapter, it's sorta filler but it's got some important details you don't wanna miss out on. We're getting very close to seeing a familiar face soon, hope you're as excited as I am! Also please do make sure that you've read the previous chapter too, the last time that I updated the alerts weren't working and I don't think an alert ever went out for that chapter. Sorry! Thank you again for the amazing support it really means so much. Thanks for stopping by to read, hope you like the chapter, please review if you can I'd love to hear your thoughts. Old readers new readers, help celebrate the one year anniversary! :D Thanks again and as always, please, Enjoy!_

* * *

"Mrs. Forman?" Donna softly rapped on the closed bedroom door that she and Jackie were standing in front of. They could hear the soft cries coming from its opposite side and it made the redhead feel even worse for bothering the woman; but she'd lost both rounds of paper scissor rock with Jackie, that meant she had to do the knocking and bothering. "It's just me and Jackie. Can we come in?"

Quickly the cries stopped, as if Kitty had been startled by Donna's voice. The young women exchanged looks as they heard sniffling and shuffling from inside the bedroom before Kitty finally spoke.

"Oh, yes. Yes, of course girls. Come in, come in."

Though the invitation sounded welcoming enough, Kitty never opened the door for them. Still quite a bit nervous and unsure of what would be best to do Donna and Jackie looked at each other. They could have done another round of paper, scissors, rock but Jackie was tired of playing games, especially since her hands were already busy holding one of the yellow coffee mugs from downstairs. She built up just enough courage to grab hold of the doorknob with her free hand and pushed the door open for the both of her and Donna.

Jackie and Donna slowly walked into the Formans bedroom. It wasn't a room either one of them was often in, except for a few handful of times, but being in here now felt even stranger than the other times.

She had never noticed it before but Jackie realized there was more than just some feminine, homey stuff picked out by Kitty in the bedroom. There was a lot of Red's stuff in there too. She spotted his blue bathrobe hanging on the bathroom door, some old photos adored on the dresser, and on the nightstand at his side of the bed was an unfinished book and at least three different small orange pill bottles…

"Oh girls," Kitty's sigh pulled Jackie from her observations.

Kitty was seated the maroon barrel chair found between the room's entrance and the foot of the bed, where Donna and Jackie and taken their seats. She sniffled and wiped her nose with her tissue; she was still in her pink nightgown and slippers but by now her eyes were starting to match her outfit.

Donna and Jackie waited patiently for her to continue, making Kitty to smile her thanks with a sad smile.

The older woman lowered her head before shaking it, "I'm sorry about that scene I made in the kitchen."

"Mrs. Forman, no. You have nothing to apologize for," Donna swiftly interjected as Jackie nodded alongside her. "God, I can't even imagine what you must be going through."

"I can and it's horrible," Jackie stated flat out.

Wide-eyed, Donna swung her head to look at her friend, "Jackie!"

"What?"

Looking at Donna, Jackie returned the frown being sent her way. She didn't understand why Donna seemed so upset. She was sympathizing with Mrs. Forman. It's not like she said what Mrs. Forman was going through wasn't a big deal, Jackie knew it was a very big deal. It pained her just to think about being in the woman's place.

Kitty shook her head, holding out an open palm in effort to stop any arguments. "No, no, sweetie. Jackie's right," she nodded, her eyes brimming with tears and voice cracking. "It is _horrible_."

"Oh, Mrs. Forman…"

Jackie reached out and placed a comforting hand, that wasn't holding her the handle of her mug. over the balled-up fist that rested in Kitty's lap. Kitty sniffled once again then placed her hand over Jackie's giving it a few pats as she tried to form a smile on her lips.

"Jackie, sweetie, I'm afraid I lied to you earlier," shared Kitty but when she saw the puzzled expression forming on the brunette's pretty face, she knew she had to explain just what her lie had been about. "Last night wasn't all that easy. I could barely sleep at all. I must have gotten only an hour or so of sleep and that was because…" she paused thinking back to the brief moment of comfort she'd gotten before drifting off to sleep—how she wished she could have shared the experience with someone. "Because I was so tired."

Donna and Jackie gave nods of understanding. Last night had been one the most tiring nights of their lives.

"But then I'd keep thinking about all the things I have to do," Kitty continued on, her voice getting softer and softer; she closed her eyes. "There's so much I have to do. So much I don't want to do…"

"Then let us do it, Mrs. Forman," insisted Donna.

Nodding her head in agreement, Jackie added, "We wanna help."

"That's why we were asking you about all that stuff in the kitchen," Donna explained, she could still recall Kitty's heartbreaking outburst. "We didn't mean to upset you."

Kitty pressed her lips tightly together before stretching them into a faint assuring smile. "Oh, I know girls, I know," she patted Jackie's hand again while giving Donna the smile. "And it was very sweet of to try to take over and help. It's just, well I wanted to put off doing those things because…"she shook her head and gave a quiet laugh at herself. "Oh, it sounds so silly now."

"Tell us," Jackie gently pressed.

"Please?"

"Well," the older woman drew in a big breath. "I didn't want to start the planning because I know as soon as I did, it meant I was starting to plan my goodbye to Red." Her voice broke and she titled her head as she tried to manage a tight smile. "And I'm don't wanna say goodbye to him yet."

Jackie felt terrible, for trying to force Mrs. Forman into starting the funeral planning earlier and for asking her to share her reasons now. Kitty's saddening reason didn't do much to make her feel any better either. Turning to her best friend, Jackie could tell she felt pretty horrible too. But as sympathetic as Donna could be she was also the level headed realistic one and her next words reminded Jackie of this.

"But Mrs. Forman, you'll have to," the tone Donna used was soft and cautious. Kitty had lowered her head but nodded along, she knew the girl was right. "We'll all have to say goodbye to him."

"Which is why we'll help you. We can help you make this the _best_ goodbye to Mr. Forman." Though Jackie didn't want to seem disrespectful of Kitty's mourning, she also didn't like seeing the normally cheerful woman looking so down.

Donna quickly jumped on board with Jackie's plan. "Yeah, Jackie's right. We're here for you."

"Exactly," nodded Jackie, remembering the item she'd brought in with her. She carefully escaped Mrs. Forman's grip to retrieve the mug. "And I'm not just here for you. I'm here for you _with_ _tea_."

Kitty gave the young women a smile and took the warm cup from Jackie. It was so thoughtful of the girl to bring her the mug of tea she had been wanting to make since coming home last night. Kitty briefly wondered if Jackie had made it too, until she took a sip and tasted the sharp bitterness of it. Pulling the mug away from her lips, Kitty struggled to keep her disgust visible and smile instead; it was the thought that counted not the taste.

"Thank you, dear," her words made Jackie beam with great happiness—she had helped!

Sensing the somewhat lighter atmosphere, Kitty was at least wearing a faint smile (maybe Jackie's lousy tasting tea really did help), Donna opted to begin setting things into action. Someone was going put a start to things, and it didn't help that the person who usually set things into action was no longer with them.

"We could get started now," Donna's words had Kitty and Jackie turning their necks to look straight at her.

That feeble smile of Mrs. Forman's had now disappeared. "Now?"

"Well not the actual planning, but the planning of the planning," nodded the older of the two young girls. She chose her next words carefully, knowing she'd have to tread as lightly as she had years ago when Kitty had started going through menopause. Those had been dark times no one wanted to relive. "Like we could start writing down all that needs to be done and who needs to do it."

The grip Kitty had on her mug visibly tightened while Jackie had the reaction of hearing the suggestion of an All You Can Buy shopping spree.

"Oh a list! I'll write it!" Jackie was on her feet and walked to the shelf of a headboard where she'd earlier spotted a medium sized pad of yellow paper. Picking up a pen from one of the side nightstands, she slipped back into her seat at the foot of the bed, crossed her legs and placed the pad on her lap. "Don't worry Mrs. Forman, I'm great at writing up lists."

"Yeah, 'cause your last one turned out so great," Donna commented with a scoff.

Jackie immediately threw a sharp snarl in the lumberjack's direction; she knew what list the redhead was referring to. It was the last list she had written out. One that hadn't turned out all too well. The list she'd written that had convinced her that Fez was her soulmate…she had to have missed some important points in writing that lists so she'd make sure not to do it again.

"Ok, let's get started. Mrs. Forman, this isn't gonna be just some ordinary sad funeral. It's gonna be a celebration of Mr. Forman's life," two hands popped open with great pizazz at the word 'celebration' and Jackie's grin stretched even more. "What do you think?"

Kitty stared at the faces of the two girls who were trying almost desperately to help her. They were so young and innocent. There was so much that they didn't know, still so much they hadn't gone through yet. If there was one thing Kitty wished she could save them from it was the pain she now felt consumed her, that pain of losing a significant other.

"I think Red would've hated it," she could clearly see the irritated frown that would have sunk its way onto his brow if he heard about this celebration of his life; however, when she caught sight of the disappointment on Jackie's face Kitty pressed on another smile. "But they do say funerals are for the living."

The shadow of Jackie's smile appeared on her lips and she got her pen into writing position. "Okay, what's the first thing that needs to be done?"

"Well," a sigh was exhaled by Kitty. "A few phone calls need to be made to different people. Red's brother, Marty. Some of his old war buddies that are still alive and scattered around in different parts of the country. Oh, the V.A. That's the department for Veterans Affairs to make sure Red gets the military funeral honors."

"I can make those phone calls for you, Mrs. Forman," Jackie's hand was scribbling down the info on the notepad. She then looked up. "I love talking on the phone."

Donna frowned at the statement. "Jackie, you're not gonna be gossiping and gabbing with these people. You're gonna be giving them really bad, sad news."

"Trust me Donna, I can handle this task," the younger of the two insisted. "Because one, I don't mind talking on the phone for long amounts of time. Two, I have a pretty voice and hearing bad news from someone with a pretty voice can sometimes make the bad news sound a little less bad. And three, I have no problem hanging up on strangers who are stuck crying their gross snotty cries."

"Huh," it didn't take much for Donna to realize her friend had made some convincing points; she turned to Mrs. Forman. "Maybe she really is the best person for that job."

Jackie grinned proudly while moving her head to show her agreement.

"I think she might be. Thank you, Jackie," Kitty might not have like the idea of Jackie hanging up on grieving friends, she had an even greater dislike of the idea of her making all those phone calls and having to repeatedly tell people that Red was gone. She was very grateful that Jackie was so willing to take on this task. "Now you shouldn't have to make any phone calls to anyone here in town. They'll probably all read about it in the lovely obituary you write, Donna."

The redhead gave a small smile. She was glad she had a task to help with and even more honored that Kitty was allowing her to write Red's obituary.

"Now the only person in town that I think we need to call is your father, Donna." Kitty shared, sounding a little nervous as she did so.

Knowing how heavy her dad's waterworks tended to be, Donna stepped in to volunteer again. "Don't worry. I'll handle him too."

"Thank you, dear."

Also relieved that she wouldn't have to deal with a Booger-y Bob, Jackie added _'Donna calls her dad'_ to the list.

"What about the actual funeral stuff?" Donna looked at Kitty then Jackie and back at Kitty. "Is that all taken care of or do we have to do stuff…"

"No, no we…we need to take care of that too. We need to go to the funeral home and pick out," Kitty swallowed the lump in her throat and it left such a stinging feeling behind she had to take a moment before she could talk again. "The casket. And pick out any flowers, the readings, a photo for the portrait at the service…oh and for the obituary."

Jackie was diligently writing the tasks down. "We can put Eric and Steven in charge or starting that off."

"And you can help with any of the parts you feel up to doing," added Donna, hoping she could manage a sincere tone to Mrs. Forman while she simultaneously sent a pointed glare towards Jackie's direction. Even though they were trying to help Kitty out that didn't mean they should exclude her from all of the funeral planning. Like Kitty had said herself, this would be her goodbye to Red too.

"I would like to help pick out the photos," the older woman admitted with a soft smile. "I love looking at old photos."

"Anything else you can think of?"

"For now. Those are the bigger things that need to be taken care of," explained Kitty.

Donna took a glance over Jackie's shoulder to steal a peek at the list. It really wasn't too long. "That's not too bad…"

"Yeah," Jackie nodded confidently. "We can handle this."

"Of course there is one other big task that needs to be done that I left out," Kitty's solemn tone told of how serious this task was. She drew in a deep breath and looked at the girls. "We have to tell Laurie."

The mere mention of her arch nemesis made Jackie's back stiffen while the grip on her pen tightened. She downcast her gaze to her notes, hoping that her avoidance of eye contact with Mrs. Forman would keep her from being assigned the task of calling Laurie Forman too.

While Donna didn't have the same painful history with Laurie that Jackie did, that didn't mean that she liked her boyfriend's sister all that much. It couldn't be forgotten the time Laurie nearly gave Donna Slut Rabies when she bit Donna during the physical squabble with Jackie. Still Donna's dislike for Laurie did not outweigh the admiration and love she had for Laurie's mother.

"Um, okay. Right. Do you like have a phone number we can like call her on?" Donna tried not to sound too awkward with her question.

Kitty gave a scoff. "I haven't talked to Laurie in about five years. Not since she married Fez so he could stay in the country and then she took off after that."

The revelation shocked both of the younger girls, even Jackie looked up from the heart doodles she was making on the notepaper. They couldn't believe it. Kitty hadn't spoken to her daughter in _five_ years? That had to be the doing of Laurie and not Kitty, they were sure; Kitty made constant phone calls to their homes at least once a week. Even Jackie who lived in the same town as her!

Taking in Mrs. Forman's words, Jackie and even Donna thought about their relationships with their own mothers. They weren't the healthiest either but at least they kept in contact through letters and the occasional holiday phone call. Kitty had been given a daughter who was hard to handle because she didn't want to be handled—unless it was by some cute handsy guy—while Donna and Jackie had been given mothers who sometimes found it difficult to handle begin mothers.

At least the three had found each other now and made up the slightly mismatched puzzle.

Donna was just about to make the suggestion of not worry about finding Laurie when Kitty spoke up again.

"She and Red were always very close though. Even when she was a baby. She would be sleeping in her cradle then she'd wake up crying bloody murder and she wouldn't stop crying until she was in Red's arms. It drove me crazy," Kitty shook her head at the memory. "Red said it drove him crazy too because he'd have to wake up to hold her but I know it really didn't bother him as much as he said. He loved his little girl." She sniffled just a bit. "Over the years, Laurie sent Red a few letters, postcards, and things like that."

Jackie felt herself getting jealous on Mrs. Forman's behalf. "She did?"

Kitty just nodded, no harsh feelings appearing to be felt. "Red never read me any of them and I never asked him to." Spotting their surprised looks, she elaborated a little more. "That was their father-daughter thing. And I knew that if something really serious had happened, Red would have said something but he never did. That was enough to ease this worried mother's heart."

"Do you think Mr. Forman saved any of those letters?" The gears in Donna's mind were turning with ideas. "Maybe there's an address on one of them that we could send a telegram to."

Brows wrinkled deeply on her forehead, Jackie stared at the redhead. "Telegram, Donna? What is this the 1800s? We could give the address to Michael and see if he can input it in his police stuff and maybe he can come up with a phone number or something."

"Or that," Donna did have to admit Jackie's idea was a better idea and even a cooler one at that.

"If he did, it would probably be somewhere in his nightstand there."

Donna and Jackie followed Kitty's eyes to the left side of the bed where Red's nightstand was. There stand contained a drawer and it was the most likely place to find an old letter from Laurie. But to have to rifle and go through the man's things right now, it just didn't feel right.

"We can look for it later," assured Donna; and if none of the three could do it, she'd get one of the guys to.

"His suit."

Jackie made the statement like she was making a guess during a game of charades, which only made Donna even more confused.

"What?" Donna wondered if she had heard wrong.

"The suit that Mr. Forman will be in for the funeral, Donna," Jackie held back an eyeroll but really her friend was so clueless on this funeral stuff. She then turned to Kitty and erased any previous annoyance from her tone. "Maybe we could have Fez pick out the suit. He doesn't have a job to do yet and he's got a great fashions sense. Almost as good as mine!"

Though the suggestion brought a faint smile to the older woman's face, she didn't look very convinced with the idea.

"That's a very nice thought, Jackie, dear. But I think I'll pick out Red's last suit. I don't think Red would ever forgive me for letting 'the foreign kid' dress him," She gave a soft laugh at the memory of the many nicknames Red had for Fez. He seemed to have one for all the kids, it was his way of showing he cared about them. Abruptly Kitty's laughter stopped when she remembered another important task that need to be done. "Oh, I…I need to make a phone call today."

"To who? I can add it to my list and make it for you," offered Jackie, pen already in hand.

Kitty shook her head, not even giving the offer a moment of consideration. "No, no. It's not that kind of phone call," she informed and then so the girls wouldn't get too suspicious she revealed a bit of her hidden truth. "Red and I had an appointment today and now, I need to cancel it because…well, because of obvious reasons."

"We can do that for you, Mrs. Forman." It was Donna who tried this time.

However, Kitty was not being swayed. She wasn't ready to let the girls in on this secret, she didn't know if she'd ever be. "No, no. I'll do it. You girls are already helping and doing _so_ _much_." Using her left hand, she covered a hand from each of the girls and gave them a squeeze as she spoke her words. "I am going to make a great big hearty lunch for all of you!"

"No offense, Mrs. Forman," Jackie began to tell the giggling Kitty. "But I'm still pretty from breakfast."

Donna had eaten her plate of breakfast, and some of Eric's, before she and Jackie came upstairs, but she couldn't help but think that she really could eat again. Of course, she kept this thought to herself as she silently hoped there were still a few blueberry muffins left when she returned downstairs.

"Yeah, why don't you rest," suggested Donna, once she got her mind off food. "Take a nap for a bit while we get started on the phone calls and stuff."

Removing her hand from the girls', Kitty allowed it to join her other palm that was currently wrapped around her mug of tea. She enjoyed the warmth of the cup but it saddened her to think her bed would never have that kind of warmth again. "That would be nice but I don't think I could get much sleep in here." Her eyes traveled around the room, tearing up at each wall. "There's just too many memories…"

"Then sleep in Eric's room," Donna said what she felt her boyfriend would say if he were in the room.

Not wanting to intrude or invade the couple's space, Kitty swung her head from side to side. "Oh no, I couldn't…it wouldn't be right."

"It would be better than sleeping in Laurie's room," quipped the petite brunette.

As much as Jackie's point was a valid one, Donna figured Mrs. Forman might need a better closing statement to convince her. "Mrs. Forman, it's fine. Really. Besides Eric and I will be downstairs. Go, get some sleep."

Kitty stared at the young women sitting in front of her. They were determined and she was very tired.

"Okay, okay," she finally relent, already standing up from the armchair. "Thank you, girls."

They each felt the gentle press of Mrs. Forman's lips at the crown of their heads, first Jackie and then Donna soon after.

"You're welcome Mrs. Forman."

Not saying another word, Kitty grabbed the pillow from the left side of the bed—Red's pillow—and exited the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Donna looked at Jackie who lifted the notepad up for review. There may not have been too many tasks listed but they needed to get to work.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you all liked the chapter! Sorry it wasn't a bigger one for the one year anniversary of the story but we're getting there I mean it!_

 _In the next chapter, we'll see the kids take on their tasks of planning Red's funeral and Hyde tells Jackie just what she had been right about last night._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	18. Chapter 17: The End of The Innocence

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing._

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well and enjoying the summer season! Today I have a new chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" for you, didn't take as long as the last one right? Hope not. Meant to post earlier but I got distracted with other oneshots. My focus is back on this story now and I hope you all are as excited as I am! Thank you for all the incredible feedback you have left on the story, it means so much! I really have some of the best supportive readers *hug* I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I'm hoping the next chapter will be up in a week or so *fingers crossed* Thank you so very much for stopping by to read please review if you can, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Hope you like the chapter and as always please, Enjoy!_

* * *

After making sure Kitty had settled in okay in Eric's room, Jackie and Donna returned to the kitchen to share with the guys the list of tasks Mrs. Forman had given them. However, they did not leave the upper floor without returning to the Formans' bedroom and searching Red's nightstand for any possible clues of Laurie's whereabouts.

They looked through the small table and drawer with a letter in mind. Jackie even refrained from doing too much snooping. It just didn't feel right to be rifling through the man's stuff when he'd died not 24 hours ago. Jackie actually found herself looking over her shoulder a few times, worried that she and Donna were about to be caught by the table's owner.

Of course, Red never did appear but what did pop up was a letter from Laurie, still in its torn from the top, envelope. The real shocker though was not finding the letter, nor was it the short amount of time it took to find the letter, it was the Wisconsin address listed at the envelope's top left corner.

"Man, this is just so typical," Eric laughed through his nose as tossed the letter back to the center of the kitchen table they were all seated around. "Laurie's been in Wisconsin this whole time, a few miles away and Red wrote her letters. I bet they were book long too. Meanwhile I go to Africa, _thousands of miles away_ and didn't even get a post-it from the man."

Donna hated seeing her boyfriend upset. She knew this was an upsetting time and she hated adding onto it. "Come on, Eric. This letter's from like three years ago, you know your sister, she might not even still be at this address. Don't go upsetting yourself."

Feeling Donna's comforting hand on his back Eric hung his nodding head and sighed.

"Yeah Donna's right," Kelso managed to say with a mouthful of waffles before he swallowed and spoke again. "I mean if anyone should be upset it should be me. Why am I the one who's gotta find Laurie? It' not like I can even _do_ _it_."

"Michael, you work with the police department. You have access to all kinds of things that help find missing people. You really don't think you can find Laurie?" Jackie's eyebrow quirked at the question. She didn't want it to seem too obvious but they were putting a lot of eggs in the Kelso Basket with this whole finding Laurie situation.

Kelso gave an arrogant scoff. "Yeah, I can find her Jackie, _duh_." The 'duh' earned him a few eyerolls. "But when find her it's not like I can even _do_ _it_ with her. You know, on account of me being with Brooke and all."

"Kelso!"

"Oh Michael!"

The disgusted exclamations were given by Donna and Jackie while the guys at the table just shook their heads to show their own disapproval. At a time like this how could the guy still manage to think about 'doing it?'

"What? I said I'm not gonna do it with Laurie!" Kelso shouted, as if using a louder voice would bring more truth to the statement. "I'm not gonna cheat on Brooke. I'm not gonna do that to her," his voice softened and so did the girls' anger towards him—at least until the kettlehead opened his mouth again. "The only way I'd be able to do it with Laurie was if Brooke said it was okay for her to join in…" the image that the idea created in Kelso's mind made him stop mid-sentence and change his attitude towards finding his ex-girlfriend. "Okay, yeah. I'll totally look for her when my shift starts tonight."

The moment she saw that goofy smile of his spread onto his lips, Jackie rolled her eyes at Kelso. She knew exactly what that smile meant and she made a mental note to warn Brooke about it and any possible sleazy ideas his mind was currently cooking up. However, despite her greater annoyance at Michael Kelso and his sudden eagerness to find Laurie Forman, Jackie was also very relieved that he was willing to take on the task, if only for Mrs. Forman's sake.

"Eric, it really sounded like you mom wanted to be there for the funeral planning," Donna was pouring maple syrup of her pancake-waffle tower. "But since she's resting right now you could help me with your dad's obituary and Hyde, you can help Jackie make all those phone calls."

Unsure of how Steven would feel about working on the task together after spending most of the previous night together, Jackie turned her eyes to Hyde but his gaze was studying the list of people they'd have to call.

"What do I get to do?" Fez was the only one who hadn't gotten a job yet and was hopeful that the girls had left the best for last.

Donna had just placed a forkful of food in her mouth when she and Jackie shared a look. Neither was quite sure how they could tell the always eager to help foreigner that there was no special task for him. And when Jackie saw Donna was now chewing her breakfast like a cow chewing on grass, she knew the task of telling Fez that he had no task was going to be left for her to take care of.

Jackie smiled but the corners of her mouth already ached. "You Fezzy, have the best job of all. You get to sit here and look pretty."

"Yes!" Fez pumped a fist in what turned out to be a short-lived victory. A frown slowly sunk onto his forehead. "Wait a minute…why is Kelso not the one who is sitting and looking pretty? He is the pretty one."

"Thanks, Fez," Kelso was bashful with gratitude before looking at the others and swiftly snapping out of it. "And also, yeah, what gives?! You can't tell me I'm losing my good looks to _him_."

He thrust a thumb in Fez's direction and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey!"

"Alright, fine!" Jackie held out her open palms in front of her; she didn't want to deal with this kind of squabbling right now. "You can both sit here and look pretty, okay?"

Nodding Fez said, "Okay."

"Fine," agreed Kelso. "But I'll be sitting and looking the prettiest."

Fez glared heatedly at his best friend. "You got that right you beautiful sonofabitch!"

Having heard enough of the bickering lovefest between the moron twins, Hyde was ready to get to work on making some of the phone calls. At least he was until he saw his redheaded friend piling more food onto her already full plate of breakfast.

"Donna, man, you can ease up on those pancakes," his words made Donna's movements still. "Pretty sure Mrs. Forman didn't intend on us eating all this stuff."

"She must have Hyde, otherwise it would just go to waste."

Jackie gave her best friend a sideways look and directed the stare at her friend's plate of food. Didn't she realize the consequences of eating so much? "Well, if you keep eating like this all of this food is gonna go straight to _your_ waist."

Though she was irritated by the unwanted attention on her, Donna didn't let it stop her from eating and she used her silverware to cut into her pancakes. "We didn't dinner last night," she felt compelled to remind them.

"Yeah, but Donna, you're eating like we haven't had dinner in the last month," Eric piped up with his own comment.

"Shut up," Donna ordered forgetting she had a mouthful of pancakes; she was more upset that now was when Eric decided to speak up. Shoulders slumping Donna swallowed her food before continuing. "I eat when I'm anxious okay? And this isn't exactly the easiest thing to deal with right now."

While the guys nodded their heads, seeming to agree with Donna's statement Jackie not only agreed with the words but sympathized with them too. She knew what it was like to eat through your feelings, it was a horrible feeling no matter how good the food was. And the breakfast food spread out on the table looked really good, so good it made Jackie's stomach rumble with hunger.

So enthralled by the breakfast feast and making sure Donna didn't scarf it all down, Jackie failed to notice Hyde's unshaded gaze watching her.

"Hey," Hyde voice instantly grabbed her attention. "Why don't you grab a quick bite to eat? I can get started on the list of calls."

A smile spread into place on Jackie's lips. "I guess I could eat one pancake or two…if they're chocolate chip."

"Better hurry up 'fore Donna hoovers them all down," he teased with a smirk.

Luckily Donna hadn't heard the exchange between the two former lovers who were currently seated close to the other—something else the famished redhead paid no attention to. She chugged at least half her glass of milk before picking up her own pen and notepad. "Did your dad go to our high school?"

"Uh, yeah," Eric's brows furrowed at such a question. "I mean Mom had to drag him there half the time but he was there for every open house and parent teacher conference. He didn't care much for the pep rallies though, I do have to say."

The expression that covered Donna's face showed how she'd found the smart comment from her boyfriend not all that amusing. Humor was part of his coping mechanism, Donna knew, but she wished Eric would take this a little more seriously. She had been put in charge of writing Red's obituary and she wanted to make sure that she wrote a good one.

"What high school did he graduate from?" she now knew she was going to have to be very specific in her questions.

"The school of Ass Kicking," Eric said without missing a beat. "I'm sure you've heard their school motto 'We'll put our foot in your ass.'"

Ignoring the snickering happening around the table, Donna rolled her eyes. "Come on, Eric, be serious."

"I can't, okay Donna. I can't because, because I don't know." Like a sad little turtle, Eric's head sunk downwards. "Red never told me what high school he went to…or if he did, I don't remember…" He wasn't sure which scenario was worse.

"Okay, it's okay. We can figure it out," Donna tried to assure him. "Our school was built in what? 1945? What year did your dad graduate?"

Eric sighed, dropping his head into his hands. "I don't know. I…" a sudden realization made him lift his head, his sad eyes meeting Donna's worried ones. "Donna, I don't even know if he actually graduated high school. I mean I'm pretty sure he did but he had always talked about spending his senior year out on the battlefield. I don't know if he graduated early or went back to school after the war or what…God! There's still so much I don't about him. Stuff I guess I'll never know now."

Silent looks were exchanged across the table as the group of friends realized they didn't know all that much about Red Forman. Growing up all the really knew about him was that he would kick their asses if he caught them doing anything they shouldn't have been doing. Back then that was all they needed to know, but now, they wished they'd gotten to know the man a little better—at least some of them did.

"Eric, it's okay. We'll just start with the basic, basic stuff," Donna placed her hand over Eric's. "Your mom can fill us in on the rest later. Okay?"

When she saw Eric nodded his head, Donna picked her pen backup and started her draft. "Let's see, Reginald Forman owner of…"

"Albert."

Donna didn't understand why the name had been blurted out. "What?"

"His middle name was Albert, like mine," explained Eric, though he didn't seem too thrilled at knowing this minor detail about his father. "Reginald Albert Forman."

Smiling just a bit, Donna continued to write. "Okay. Reginald Albert Forman, owner of Forman and Son's Muffler Shop…"

"Hold on a minute," interrupted Kelso, who looked as though he were directing traffic with his hands held out before him. "I thought this _obligatory_ thing was for Red. Who's this Reginald guy?"

Eric stared at one of his oldest friends. They'd been friends for almost twenty years had Kelso somehow managed to never learn his parents' real names? Although to be fair it was Kelso and they were lucky he didn't think 'Mr.' was Red's first name.

"Kelso, Reginald was my dad's full name."

Michael Kelso's eyes went wide at the revelation as did his mouth as he cried out, "Oh! Burn!"

Reacting on his instincts, Hyde threw a fist into Kelso's upper arm earning him a loud yelp from the living punching bag.

"Ow! What? Come on, that's a good burn!" The hit had hurt but Kelso was not only used to Hyde's punches but he still found humor in this unknown fact about Red. "It's a parent burn…a burn than that last's a lifetime," his head nodded in approval. "That's a pretty damn good burn. I can't believe I never knew this!"

"What did you think 'Red' was short for, Kelso?" Donna was almost afraid to ask.

He made a show of shrugging his broad shoulders. "I don't know…Redmond, Rudolph…anything that wasn't Reginald. That doesn't even sound like a real name."

"Well it is," the tone of Eric's voice sounded a little harsher than usual.

"Yeah, I know. It just doesn't sound like one for Red," Kelso might not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer but he'd learned how to tell when his friends were upset and he hoped this explanation would smooth things over. "Reginald sounds like a name for some skinny four-eyed geek…like, I'd by you as a Reginald!"

Kelso's hand flew up, gesturing at Eric but it didn't make Eric feel any better.

"Gee thanks," he muttered, sinking back into his seat.

Having mulled over the name during most of Kelso's Burn Discussion, Jackie pursed her lips together and sat up straighter, signaling that she was ready to share. "I like the name Reginald."

"Yeah, you would _Beulah_ ," shot back Eric.

Jackie gave him a snide glare but was actually quite happy to have Eric throw a zinger her way. She decided to let him have his moment and continue with her thoughts on the name Reginald. "It sounds like a name that a prince or a knight in shining armor might have. It's a name for someone who's courageous, someone who's fancy, and most importantly, someone who's rich."

"Least Red got one out of the three," Hyde remarked wearing a faint smirk.

The others nodded in agreement, they all knew which one of the three words fit best with Red Forman.

"I wonder why Red always went by Red and not Reginald," Donna thought aloud.

"Probably to avoid moments like these," was the guess Red's adopted son gave and it seemed to really hit home with the man's former son-in-law.

"He went by a nickname to avoid being laughed at because of his real name," looking skywards, Fez gave a lopsided grin. "We had more in common than we thought, huh Big Guy?"

His comment left Jackie with an uneasy feeling. And judging from the odd looks and squirming in their seats that the others were doing she knew she wasn't alone. Jackie wasn't sure which was worse Fez calling Red 'Big Guy' or him saying that he and Red had things in common; she wasn't sure why but she could almost sense how much Red would have hated to hear either of those things.

"But why 'Red,'" Kelso suddenly asked. "I mean if I could pick my own nickname it's be something really cool like…'Bolt.'"

Fez managed to seize a strip of bacon without being noticed by Donna and he took a generous bite from it. "Maybe red was his favorite color?"

"Red being the color of rage, it was definitely the color that fit him," Hyde added in his two cents into the ring.

"It could have been because of his hair," guessed Donna before she looked back at Eric. "I think I remember your dad having red hair…you know when he had hair."

"Ew," Jackie grimaced with a matching expression. "I think I would rather be bald than have red hair. No offense, Donna!" she swiftly threw out when she remembered her redheaded best friend.

Donna rolled her eyes but was interrupted before she could say more.

"My grandma was the first one to call him Red when he was a kid. I guess the name just kind of stuck," Eric retold the story his father had shared years back, and found himself wanting to share a little more. "His favorite color was blue."

The others returned Eric's faint grin with small smiles of their own as they continued to listen.

"When I was little I remember he used to tell me it was because blue was the color of my mom's eyes," his voice softened with fondness of the memory. "As I grew up though he said it was because blue was the color of his uniform in the Navy. Then he'd threaten to ship me off to it if I kept asking him dumb questions like that."

Soft chuckles and giggles erupted around the table, even one managing to come from Eric. It really felt good to laugh.

Placing a hand back on Eric's shoulder, Donna gave it an encouraging rub and smiled. "You see, you do know things about your dad."

A genuine smile at last made its way onto his lips, "Yeah, I guess I do."

0o0o0o

"Steven, what're you doing in here?" Jackie asked the moment she stepped into the kitchen.

He was seated at the kitchen table with his back towards the swinging door that Jackie had just stepped through; however, she could see the yellow list Hyde had in front of him. What she couldn't understand was why he was looking over the list, they'd already made all the calls Kitty had told them to make. There wasn't anyone left to call aside from Laurie who they were still waiting to hear from Kelso about.

Aside from contacting Laurie, Donna and Jackie had pretty much crossed off the items of their To Do lists. Jackie and Hyde had made the phone calls to relatives and the VA. Donna had written up a draft of Red's obituary and made her own phone call to her dad. And instead of only Hyde and Eric accompanying Kitty to the funeral home to pick out the things for the funeral Jackie and Donna had also come along for some much needed support.

It had been a long day, just thinking about it made Jackie tired and she dropped herself into the seat beside Hyde.

When he didn't look at her, she gave him a friendly poke on the hand. "You should be in the living room with Eric and Mrs. Forman looking through old photos."

"I don't know," he shrugged, eyes still averted downwards. "Seemed more like a family kinda thing to me."

Jackie had seen and heard a lot of heartbreaking things today but this, Steven thinking he wasn't part of the Forman's family, had to be the most upsetting for her. "Steven, you're part of that family."

Hyde gave a scoff through his nostrils, "Not really."

"Steven, you are part of their family," she said putting great emotion and emphasis in her words; she was angered that his mind would think otherwise, she was angered with whoever put such an idea in his head to begin with. "No Matter what Michael or his stupid protocol say."

She was tempted to reach out and grab his hand with hers but knowing he was already upset, she didn't want to take the chance of making things worse for him.

Finally, he lifted his head, allowing Jackie to see the light furrow in his brow. "It wasn't what Kelso said, alright?" his eyes met hers. "It was you."

Her anger was instantly overcome with guilt, she barely had enough of her voice to whisper, "Me?"

"You didn't say it directly like Kelso," Hyde informed, he didn't want to make it seem like he was directly blaming her either. The petrified look on her face made him sigh before continuing. "I never told Red how much he meant to me. How all the stuff he did for me over the years probably save my life…more than once. Never told him how he was the only guy I'd ever really thought of as a dad. Sure, Forman probably never said any of this stuff either but Forman was his kid so Red had to have felt it. I was just the deadbeat delinquent living in his basement all these years."

"Steven…"

"Red'll never know any of that stuff I felt cuz I was too closed off to tell him," he was using that voice he used only when he was mad at himself. "Worst part is all this happening with Red and I still don't feel like I could change things. I'm gonna end up bitter and alone. That's what you were right about."

Jackie remembered their conversation from last night how Steven had told her she was right in effort to cheer her up, but now that she knew what she had been right about…she never knew being right about something could make someone feel so bad.

She swallowed hard as tears stung her eyes. "Oh Steven. No, no Mr. Forman knew with you too." Her hands took one of his, not caring if he tried to pull away, the vice grip she had on it wouldn't let him get away. "Oh God, he had to have known, Steven. He knew how much you cared about him and how much valued his opinion. You showed him through the way you helped here at the house and through the respect you had for him. And I'm sure Mr. Forman knew you saw him as a dad because he saw you as his son."

Mrs. Forman would have been the better person to convince Steven of this but she had enough to deal with, Jackie was willing to take on this task for her. She might not have known Red and his feelings the way his wife did but in the years she was with Steven—and even before that—Jackie saw the similarities and friendship that the two men shared.

"The two of you just had this… _this bond_. Sometimes you could pass as father and son better than he and Eric could." This remark got a small chuckle from Hyde and it made Jackie feel a little better that she'd managed to make him laugh, but there was still guilt in the pit of her stomach. "I know I was right about what I said before about you being closed off but that means I'm also right now when I say, 'he knew."

Hyde attempted to smirk but it didn't last more than a second. "Still kinda wish I could've told him the stuff myself, you know."

"I know," Jackie nodded, looking at their hands. "I kinda wish I hadn't said that stuff to begin with." If they had found Red's accident just a few minutes earlier in that car ride she never would have said any of that. Steven wouldn't have said what he said. If they'd found Red just a few minutes earlier maybe Red would still be here. She locked eyes on Steven's. "I'm sorry."

"It's cool. We both said some pretty shitty stuff to each other," He didn't want to repeat what he'd told her. "I'm sorry too."

Jackie rapidly nodded her head and cleared her tearful throat, she didn't want to think about it anymore. "You should really get in there. They're your family, Steven."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Jackie." Hyde knew she was right and he stood up to join his family but stopped in front of the stove. He turned back to the table, looking at Jackie sitting alone, "Hey."

She looked up, confused at why he was still in the kitchen.

"You should probably come too. Mean you were one of Red's favorites."

A smile stretched onto Jackie's lips at his suggestion and in record time she was up on her feet and heading towards the living room.

"One of his favorites? _Please_. I was his favorite," she proudly reminded as she walked past Hyde and lead the way through the swinging door.

* * *

 _ **Author's note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you liked the chapter I know it was still kinda sad but I hope you got a few laughs, we're gonna see some more of the lighter stuff sprinkled in this time of grief for Kitty and the gang._

 _Next chapter we'll see some of those old photos as the family searches for a good picture of Red and there might be a familiar face or two seen. We'll find out if Jackie's heading back to her apartment or spending another night in the basement._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	19. Chapter 18: Photographs and Memories

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing._

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hi everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have for you the newest chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" I'm very sorry it was a little bit later than expected but the chapter got way longer than planned, so much so that I had to cut it in half. BUT that means that next chapter is just about ready to go and then after that chapter…well, you are not gonna wanna miss what's coming! I'm so excited! This chapter is a little shorter and might seem fillerish but there's some stuff you might want to keep in mind as the story goes on. Thank you all once again for all of the truly amazing support and reviews you all have given this story it means SO, SO much! And a special thank you to those of you who wanted to see this photo album chapter and a big thank you to those of you who gave me some wonderful ideas for the photos. Thank you! Thank you very much for stopping by to read, please review if you can, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Hope you like and as always, please, Enjoy!_

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"Hey Mom, who took this picture?"

Kitty looked up from the stack of old photos she was currently searching through. She'd lost track of the exact time long ago but she and the kids had been pouring over old photo albums and picture boxes for more than a few hours. At first it was only her and Eric but soon Donna, Steven, and Jackie joined in too. Kitty was grateful for the extra set of eyes; seeing this large collection of photos made Kitty realize she really had taken a lot of pictures.

Looking through that first photo album had overwhelmed Kitty with heavy emotions. It had been tough to see so many images of her husband looking so happy and lively and knowing she'd never see him that way again. She'd never see him at all ever again. However, as she slowly flipped through each scrapbook page she found photos that brought back special memories that made her smile.

And that was when Kitty realized she might not have Red anymore but she still had so many memories of him that she would love a treasure forever.

She took the photo Eric was holding into her own grasp so she could get a better look and when she did it made her smile.

It was a photo of her and Red's younger selves at the old train station. He was dressed in his Navy uniform, hat on head and duffle bag over his shoulder, and though the image was black and white Kitty could remember the dress she'd worn was maroon colored—it had been one of Red's favorites. Her arms were wrapped around his neck while his surrounded her waist, lifting her up in the air while her legs folded up behind her. They weren't smiling for the camera because they didn't know it was there having been preoccupied with their passionate smooch.

"That was your Uncle Marty," Kitty informed Eric before deciding to share the story behind the photo. "That was the day your father came home from Korea."

"Really?" the others were just as surprised as Eric and leaned in close, trying to get a better look at the photo.

Kitty nodded and continued. "Marty and I were the only ones who drove up to the station to pick him up. Red didn't know I was going, he'd just asked Marty to come and we were supposed to meet later for dinner but I wanted to surprise him. And it had been almost three years, I wasn't about to wait a few more hours to see him," she giggled when she recalled how eager she'd been during that drive with her, at the time, future brother-in-law.

"I had brought my camera along to snap a photo of Red and his surprise when he saw me there. But when the time came and I saw Red…I forgot all about the camera, dropped it and ran straight into your father's arms!"

Jackie thought the story was romantic while Hyde was surprised at the idea of Mrs. Forman forgetting about the camera in her hands; she must have really been happy to see Red.

"Luckily, Marty caught my camera before it fell to the floor and broke into hundreds of pieces. Something my mother would have just loved," Kitty's annoyance was short lived as she looked down at the photo and remembered the next part of the story. "He took the picture of the two of us without either of us ever noticing."

Eric started at the photo he now had in his hands, it felt like he was holding a piece of history. "You look really pretty, Mom."

"Thank you honey," she replied with a smile.

"Mrs. Forman, your wedding dress was beautiful."

At the mention of the word 'wedding' Jackie swiftly turned her attention to photo album in Donna's lap, finding that her best friend did in fact manage to get ahold of The Forman's wedding album. When she spotted the gown with her own eyes, Jackie nodded in agreement.

"It really was, Mrs. Forman," she said and then added, "And that's coming from both me and Donna so that's saying a lot."

Kitty was very aware of how the girls didn't often agree on fashion styles, so the two of them both liking her wedding dress did make her smile grow a little more. "Thank you, dears. You know it took me almost three months to find it."

"It was a great find," Jackie was still examining the dress in various pictures. "I love it. Especially all those little buttons it has on the back."

The mention of the buttons made a shy smirk twitch onto the older woman's lips. Kitty could remember both her and Red griping about those very buttons during their wedding reception, in the coat closet. Luckily those millions of little buttons had been no match for Red and his nimble fingers. But that was a memory Kitty decided to keep to herself.

Hyde squeezed himself onto the sofa next to Eric, so that he could get a look at the wedding photos. Craning his neck a bit, his attention was captured by a black and white photo of Red and Kitty in their wedding attire. Based off the cake spatula their hands were intertwined around they appeared to be getting ready to cut their two-tiered wedding cake but seemed to only have eyes for each other. The image of his surrogate parents looking so young made him smirk.

"Man, check out Red's smile," Hyde managed to point his finger at the photo he'd been studying. "Don't think I've ever seen him smile a smile that big or happy."

"I know it's kinda creepy too. Am I the only one who feels like it's following me?" Eric then proceeded to move his upper body from left to right all while keeping his eye on the image of his father's grinning face.

His actions got him a few laughs but the one that brought a smile to his own face was the distinctive one of his mother's. He was glad he could make her laugh if even for just a moment.

A soft sigh left Kitty's lips as her fingertips grazed the photo of her and Red on the dance floor. She was smiling as he whispered something in her ear, Kitty could still remember what he'd said. "You know, Red might have forgotten my birthday that one year and every so often he needed the reminder of national holidays like Valentine's Day but he never once forgot our anniversary. Never even needed much of a reminder for it either. I think it was just such an important day for us, to him. It was the day we started our lives together. How we forget that?"

She finished with a tearful smile that the two girls gave right back.

Eric turned the page of photo book and was surprised to see his parents go from a tux and puffy white dress to swim trunks and a two-piece high waisted swimsuit.

"Is this you guys on your honeymoon?"

Kitty's smile grew and became less tearful as she looked down at the photo of Red tightly hugging her from behind as they stood in front the Atlantic Ocean, blissfully smiling for the camera. "That's right, in Miami, Florida at the Fontainebleau hotel."

Hand flying to her chest, Jackie gave an audible gasp. "You stated at the Fontainebleau?"

"It was so lovely," Kitty confirmed, nodding her head. "Of course, it was right after it had opened so it wasn't all fancy schmancy like you hear it is now. And with Red having been in the military we were able to get a very good deal. We could never afford a trip like that today…"

The way Kitty's voice drifted off wasn't hard to miss.

"Mom? What is it?"

"It's funny," she sniffled and wiped the corners of her eyes with the tips of her fingers. "Just a few weeks ago, Red and I…" the laugh she gave came out more like sigh; she struggled to keep her emotions in tact as she went on. "We talked about taking a second honeymoon back down there for our anniversary."

Jackie was sure that she felt her heart break and her eyes filled with tears. "Oh Mrs. Forman…"

"Oh no. Jackie, honey, no, no. Don't cry, sweetie," Kitty was nearly pleading with the young woman. They didn't need any more tears, including her own which was why she pulled on her best smile while patting Jackie's arm. "It's okay, really. It, it was just talk. Like I said we could never be able to afford it. And the last thing my hair needs is some of Florida's humidity. I'd walk around there looking like Harpo Marx!"

Kitty released a laugh but the others joined in only halfheartedly. Not wanting her kids or herself to dwell on the sadness of things that could have been she looked for another photo that could change the subject.

"Oh, okay, look at this photo here," she used one hand to point out the photo while the other held the page of the albums at angle that ensured everyone could see. "You see that heart in the sand? Red used a stick to draw that and he's writing my name in the middle. See there's the 'K' the 'I' and the two 'T's and he was just finishing the 'Y.' I saw him doing it and thought it was just the sweetest thing, I knew I had to snap a picture." Kitty finished with a giggle.

"That really is sweet, Mrs. Forman," said Donna, Jackie nodding in agreement beside her.

It made Hyde smirk to hear about this hidden side of Red's. A side he was sure the man would hate was being revealed right now. "Man, Red was a real romantic, huh?"

"When he wanted to be," Kitty's smile said it all.

Turning a few more pages of the photo album, Kitty found the picture that made her heart skip a beat. A soft smile played on her lips as she gingerly took the 5 by 7 photograph out from its place in the picture book so everyone could appreciate it a little more.

"Oh," her voice sounded like a happy sigh. "Here he is."

Nearly all at once, Eric, Hyde, Donna, and Jackie all leaned in closer to see the photo; they'd expected another photo from The Forman's wedding or maybe them at their first home but this newfound image was something different. It was a portrait of Red dressed in his Summer White Navy Uniform that was adorned all the various medals he'd received. He wasn't smiling and instead wore that stern serious expression that they were used to seeing him with, the kind that said you didn't want to mess with him—only a younger version of it.

What really stole their attention though were all the medals that Red's uniform held in the picture. Though they'd seen him in uniform on Veteran's Day and the occasional army convention, none of them had every take the time to notice, or ask about the various honors he'd been given.

Kitty couldn't seem to take her eyes off her husband's face, "Doesn't he look handsome?"

"He looks hot," Jackie voiced the words she meant to keep in her head, surprising herself as well as her friends.

"Jackie!" Donna struggled to hold in laugh while the guys didn't bother to hide their snickering.

"I know, I can't believe I said it either, but he does." replied Jackie after deciding not to be embarrassed by any of it, after all she had her reasons. She held an open palm in front of her as she continued, "I blame Robert Redford and _The_ _Way_ _We_ _Were_."

As a fellow fan of the film, Kitty nodded in agreement while still gazing down at the photo in her hands. However, Jackie didn't notice Mrs. Forman's response and was instead focused on the overly amused smirk Steven was sending her way, she just shook her head at him.

"Mom, why isn't this photo hung up on display or at least framed?" Eric wanted to know.

This photo captured his father as the decorated war hero he was, it filled Eric with a great sense of pride and he didn't understand why his parents had kept it tucked away.

"Oh honey, you know your father," she started to say, looking up from the photo at last. "He was very proud to have served his country but he didn't do it for the glory. He didn't like to show off these things…unless he was around other soldiers because there are only so many battle scars you can show off to each other."

Eric stared at the photo, "I still think it's a great picture."

"It is, isn't it?" Kitty smiled, joining her son in looking at the photo, she had always loved that photograph.

"Jackie, sure seemed to think so," Hyde's playful tease was said with a smirk and met with a slap on the knee from the petite brunette.

Not paying his friends any attention, Eric spoke to his mother again. "I think it would be a good one to use for some part of Dad's service. What do you think?"

It made Donna smile to see her boyfriend taking an interest in the goodbye for his father instead of shutting it, and them, all out.

"Yeah," nodded Jackie.

Hyde was also in agreement of the option, "That's a good idea, Forman."

"Thanks," Eric shared a smile with his best friend.

"We could use it for the obituary in the paper too," Donna was the one to make this suggestion. "Maybe we could use this one and also a more recent one too."

Kitty had been quiet for most of the conversation and it wasn't something that went unnoticed by her son. "Sound okay to you, Mom?"

"It sounds lovely, honey," she told him; as painful as it was having to plan out this goodbye to her husband she knew it would be even more painful if she didn't have her kids with her, she was more than thankful for their help and company. As she drew in a deep breath the corners of her mouth rose into a smile, "Of course, if we want more recent photos of Red that means we'll have to skip over a few of these photo albums and go straight to some of my favorites. _Photo albums with pictures of my babies as babies_."

With how gleefully she'd said—practically sung—the words, no one had the heart to tell her those albums probably wouldn't have the most recent photo of Red either. The foursome wordless watched as Kitty closed up the wedding album placed it on the table and moved a few other albums on top of it before selecting a brown leather looking one.

The book's cover was flipped open to the first page where and several pictures of Kitty were laid out. She was standing in various places around the Forman house that looked more than a little emptier than it did now. In the photos taken years ago, Kitty was giving the camera her side and each photo showed her tummy getting rounder and her face looking crankier.

"Who were you pregnant with here?" Jackie asked curiously.

"Oh, that was with Laurie."

Donna was impressed by how quickly Kitty had given her answer. "How can you tell?"

"Well," Kitty gazed down at the unhappy expression capture on film. "My pregnancy with Laurie was a lot more difficult."

"As is everything with Laurie," quipped up Eric.

Kitty shook her head at the memories. "I swear I must have had morning sickness until the month before she was born."

"That can happen?" Donna's eyes widened in shock. "I thought morning sickness was just during the first trimester."

"Every pregnancy is different, dear," Kitty spoke from experience both as a nurse and mother.

Jackie noticed the way this revelation had left Donna with an uneasy expression on her face but before she could say anything about it, Mrs. Forman had found another photograph she wanted to talk about.

"Oh look, here's Red holding Laurie in the hospital the day she was born," her finger pointed to the old photo of a young Red grinning down at a pink bundle whose little hand was holding onto his right index finger. Kitty smiled tearfully and slightly shook her head. "Even back then she had him wrapped around her little finger."

"That's a cute picture," Jackie had to admit. It was too bad that little baby would grow up to be a boyfriend stealer.

More pages of Laurie's baby pictures were flipped through. It seemed Kitty had spent a roll of film each day of Laurie's first month as a baby. It felt like they'd seen more of Baby Laurie than the real Laurie—who they were still waiting to hear about from Kelso.

"This was when Laurie was first learning how to walk," Kitty was happy to share, her smile growing at the next photo, "And here we are on her first birthday."

The three members of the Forman family sat around the kitchen table wearing, Little Laurie was wearing a paper party hat on her head and lots of frosting on her face and hands. From the looks of it, she'd wanted to share some of her birthday cake with her parents who each had a good amount of frosting smeared around their mouth. They were all smiling, Kitty looking like she was in the middle of one of her famous laughs while Red was hugging his little girl close to him.

"Wasn't Laurie just the cutest looking baby?"

"Less evil than I expected," Hyde remarked, wishing the blonde was there to zing him back, he hadn't realized he'd missed their banter. While Hyde knew Laurie wouldn't be responding to his comment he was surprised when there wasn't a response from her brother either. Curious Hyde looked up and saw him still staring at the old photos. "Forman, man, did you hear that one?"

"Huh?" Eric looked up confused, shook his head and looked back down at the pictures. "Sorry. I just can't get over how happy my dad looks in these pictures. His smile." He lifted his head again to look at his mother. "Mom, with both you and Laurie he's got this big, genuinely happy smile that I can't ever remember wearing around me…"

"Now hold on a minute, that is just not true." Her smile had sunken into a slight frown. "Your father smiled plenty big happy smiles with you too."

Eric knew she was just trying to make him feel better, "Come on, Mom."

"No, no. It's true. And we have photographic evidence to prove it!" Kitty closed Laurie's baby album and picked up the next album from the stack, flipping through the pages as if she were looking for a particular photo.

And then she found it.

It was a photo that must have been taken with Kitty's newer camera because it was now in color, slightly fade but color nonetheless. Red and Eric were outside, the oak tree in the background meant they were in the backyard, Eric couldn't have been more than two years old. He had his arms stretched out at his sides while Red held his son's small torso while lifting him above his head. Little Eric seemed to be having the time of his life and on Red's face was that great big smile that had been present in all those other photos.

"What about here?" Kitty made sure her son was looking at the right image. "Where you two were playing airplane?"

"Oh my God," he sounded like he couldn't believe his eyes. "I, remember that," his smile started to grow. "I mean I always thought it was a dream but I actually remember that. Dad lifting me up like that while he ran around the yard and I pretended I was an airplane…I remember that!"

Donna thought her boyfriend's retelling of the memory was cute. "Why did you think it was a dream?"

He shrugged, "Guess it was just sort of hard to imagine Red ever doing anything that carefree and fun with me. Or just in general."

Hearing her son talk about his father like this made Kitty upset but mostly sad. This was one of the reasons she had always wished Red wasn't so hard on their son. It made him forget all those good, happy times they'd had together as a family.

"Eric, honey, you might not remember because you were so little but when you and Laurie were growing up you two were _crazy_ about your father," she couldn't emphasize the word enough. "He would act like a big kid with you two. You both loved him so much and he loved you right back. He never stopped loving you either, honey. _Never_. And I don't want you to ever forget that."

The words his mother spoke and the tearful way she looked at him formed a lump in Eric's throat but he kept a stiff upper lip and nodded. "Okay, Mom. Thanks."

Kitty sniffled and returned the smile before she went back to looking through the picture album in her lap. She slowly flipped pages and studied the dozens of photos silently until she spotted another special image.

This one had Red laying out on their old living room sofa and on his chest, held securely by each of his arms were 2 year old Laurie and 6 month old Eric—all three of them in a deep sleep. Kitty could still remember snapping that photo.

"Oh, this is one of my favorites," she shared, her heart swelling with love as she took it out of its place holder in the book. "I think I'll keep this one out for myself."

With nods, the young adults showed their agreement before they went back to looking at the different stacks and albums of photos they had in their hands.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Sorry if the chapter was so short, short and not very exciting, and it took a while to update. Lots of apologies. But really the next chapter will be up as soon as you guys are ready for it! And it could be the last chapter before we get to a BIG chapter :D So I hope you guys don't give up on this story just yet!_

 _Next chapter we'll see some more recent photos of Red and his family, Jackie and Hyde discuss sleeping arrangements, and a special surprise guest arrives at the Forman house._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	20. Chapter 19: Days Like This

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone, how are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have a new chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" I am so very sorry that it took so long to get to you but like I've mentioned before on my other stories, the past two weeks had me taking some personal time offline. But I'm back and hopefully you all are back to read too! This chapter is a shorter one but it is important AND it's leading to a very important one! Thank you for all of the amazing support and reviews you've left for this fic it really means so much! Thank you for stopping by to reading, please review if you can, I'd so love to hear your thoughts. I hope you like it and as always, please, Enjoy!_

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For the next hour or two the group looked through many more photos of Laurie and Eric's childhood. And then just as Jackie was starting to get irritated with looking at so many pictures that she wasn't even in, they finally reached the part in the pictures where she and the others had become part of The Formans' lives. Seeing those old photos brought up plenty of laughs and memories, some that didn't even include Red.

Still their main focus was on finding that more recent picture of Red. They'd found a few, one that they'd especially liked. It had been taken during Red's Annual Fourth of July barbeque three years ago, Red was sitting in a lawn chair with his right arm around Kitty's waist as she sat on his lap. She had her arms dropped around his shoulders and her lips pressed against his cheek making him grin for the camera. That was the problem, as the group got to the more recent photos Red appeared in less of them and finding a snapshot of him smiling, or at least appearing happy, was as rare as a clear snapshot of Big Foot.

However, Kitty wasn't too thrilled with the idea of using the Fourth of July photo because it would be hard to get her cut of the photo for the newspaper. But she kept the picture for herself and added it to the growing pile she'd created off at the side.

Donna was smiling as she flipped through old photos that had her with blonde hair. What had she been thinking? And her smile grew as she spotted the next photo in her stack. "And you said your dad never smiled in a picture with you."

Eric frowned at his smiling girlfriend before looking at the photograph she was holding out to him.

It was a photo of him and his dad and Hyde too. And just as Donna had pointed out, Red was smiling—a very big smile. They were standing out in the driveway, Red in the middle with his arms slung around each of the boys' shoulders. At first Eric was confused by the picture but when he noticed that not only was his father wearing his favorite Packers windbreaker and the lucky Packers sweatshirt but Hyde had on his own Green Bay Packers shirt, that was when the memory came flooding back to him.

"Hey, that's when we all went to that Packers game."

Everyone else looked over at the photo too, trying to get a peek. Hyde wasn't expecting to catch a glimpse of himself in the picture too.

"Ooh, lemme see, lemme see. My Green Bay Packers outfit that day was adorable," reminded Jackie as she managed to grab the photo out of Donna's unmanicured finger tips but she pouted when she saw that she wasn't even in the photo.

Kitty smiled at the photo that Eric had now snapped back from Jackie. "Oh, I'll never forget how happy your father was that day."

"Yeah," Eric smiled with a bob of his head. "Dad sure loved the Packers."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Kitty sighed. Did her son really think that lowly of his father? "Honey, it wasn't just The Packers, it was you kids," she looked around the room at the other three sitting with her. "I don't think you kids ever realized it but it really meant a lot to Red that you had invited him to go to the game with you. He was so excited to be able to watch some real football with his kids."

Both girls smiled at hearing this. Donna felt happy that she had been able to get the tickets to the game Red had been so happy to go too and Jackie could happily remember that she'd taken the time to buy Mr. Forman some snack food at the game…even if he had done tradsies with Steven.

"He was the one that wanted that picture taken," Hyde wore a hint of smirk when he shared this.

Kitty happily nodded, "He was."

"He was?" It didn't ring a bell with Eric.

Hyde turned his attention from the photo to his adopted brother. "Forman, man, don't you remember?"

 _1979_

 _Eric and Hyde were sitting at the kitchen table finishing their breakfast before the rest of the group got there. They were talking to Kitty about upcoming road trip when the door swung open to reveal a grinning Red dressed in his Green Bay Packers fan attire._

" _Hey Kitty, grab your camera," he told her, his voice actually sounding excited. "I want a picture with the two best son's a father could ask for."_

 _No one could believe what they'd heard. Red was telling Kitty to grab the camera and not put it away? He's called Eric and Hyde two of the best sons? And not in any kind of sarcastic tone. It felt much more like some weird dream than the reality that it actually was._

 _Always eager for a new photo taking opportunity though, Kitty dashed out of the kitchen to grab her camera before Red changed his mind._

 _Red chuckled at his wife's exit and then looked back at the boys. "Come on, let's go out to the driveway."_

" _Why?" Eric felt as uneasy as he sounded. "Are those two best sons meeting us out there?"_

" _Ha ha! That's a good one!" Re gave another genuine laugh and pointed a finger in his son's direction._

 _It seemed to only scare Eric even more. He turned to Hyde, finding that his best friend looked just as frightened as he felt._

" _A good one?" he repeated, still trying to comprehend what his eyes had just seen. "Hyde, I'm scared."_

 _Hyde nodded, "Be lyin' if I said I wasn't too, man. Just don't make any eye contact and we should be safe."_

 _After showing his agreement to the plan, Eric and Hyde joined Red in the driveway. They almost expected to grin to be gone, thinking it had been a fluke, but it was still there…maybe even bigger than before._

" _So, where're the other guys?" Red was curious._

" _Guys? Not dumbasses, morons, or locusts?" Hyde was starting to feel more than a bit paranoid. "You sure you're feeling alright, Red."_

" _Oh I'm fine," just a hint of a scowl started to form on Red's forehead before it vanished again. "I'm just happy and why shouldn't I be? I get to see my favorite team play a game out on the field, and I get to watch it all with my sons."_

 _By this point Red had placed an arm over each of the boy's shoulders and suddenly neither Eric not Hyde felt so frightened; they even exchanged small grins between the two of them which seemed to make Red's smile grown even more. And that was just how Kitty had found them._

" _Okay, okay. Over here boys, say Go Packers!" she said from behind the camera._

 _The three men looked up and grinned, "Go Packers!"_

Jackie stared down at the three smiling faces in the photo, a smile stretching her lips out even further. It really was a very nice picture of Mr. Forman, him smiling a grin that was happy and not so evil looking as some of the other smiles he had on in the photos that had been taken in recent years. The photo also showed some of the things that he loved the most: his kids and the Green Bay Packers.

"You should use this photo," Jackie told Mrs. Forman.

"Yeah?" Hyde sounded surprised by the suggestion.

He must have remembered her request of picking a picture with her in it too, Jackie realized. It would make more people want to come to the funeral, is what she had explained. But while Jackie may not have been in this photo the fact that Steven was seemed to make up for the fact that she wasn't and she hoped he knew that.

She smiled softly, locking eyes with him, "Yeah."

"It is a great picture," Eric agreed; he was already hoping he could get a copy to frame and take back with him to Madison.

Donna turned to the woman who had been sitting there in silence. "Mrs. Forman? Would this one be okay?"

"Well," Kitty sniffled before giving a soft quick laugh. "I did want one of him smiling. I think this would be a lovely picture to use."

"Great," Donna nodded and Jackie handed her the photograph since the redhead was put in charge of handling all the newspaper and obituary stuff. "I'll take it to the paper tomorrow morning. Cutting you guys out of the photo shouldn't be too big a problem, if they need to do that."

The others showed their understanding by the movements of their heads and showed how tired they felt by either slumping their shoulders or leaning back into their seats.

"Well, I certainly am glad we finally got that settled, because as much fun as it is to look at those old photos, I am exhausted," Mrs. Forman voiced the thought that they all seemed to have.

"Me too," sighed Donna.

Hyde rubbed his tired eyes, "I hear ya."

"Same here," Eric moved an arm around Donna's shoulders.

"I can't wait to get to bed," Jackie admitting this caught Hyde's attention and she caught him looking over at her.

However, before anything could be asked the unexpected chime of the doorbell rang through the air. It had obviously been heard by all of them based off the puzzled expressions they spotted on each other's faces so it hadn't been some kind sleep deprived hallucination.

"Now who could that be at," Kitty gazed down at her ticking wristwatch. "One thirty in the morning?"

Kitty being the most curious of the group, and since it was her home, stood up from her seat to find out who was the unexpected guest. She knew Jackie and Steven had called a few relatives but none had said anything about arriving tonight. And Laurie, well she wasn't holding her breath for her daughter's return home.

Watching Mrs. Forman climb up the carpeted living room step, Hyde's attention was no longer focused on what Jackie had said and he instead turned his head towards Eric.

"Forman, man, think one of us should go answer the door," Hyde kept a watchful eye on Mrs. Forman.

A frown formed on Eric's forehead. "What? Why?"

"It's after midnight, man. Don't think it's safe for your mom to be openin' doors this late at night," Now that she's gonna be living by herself, but he kept that part to himself.

"Steven," Jackie tried not to smile but it was sweet seeing him so protective of someone else. "I think she'll be okay. I mean this is Point Place."

"Doesn't matter," he never took his eyes off Mrs. Forman who now had her hand on the doorknob which in turn had him inching closer to the edge of his seat, ready to get to her side if she needed him. "It's one in the morning, what kind of maniac goes around ringing doorbells at one in the morning?"

"Bob?"

The trio on the sofa turned their heads and sure enough standing in the doorway of the front door was Bob Pinciotti with red eyes and tear stained cheeks. He looked so sad and upset, it seemed to have just gotten worse when he saw Kitty.

"Oh jeeze, Kitty. Donna told me about…about Red." He sounded just as heartbroken as he looked. "I'm so sorry."

Kitty pressed her lips tightly together, just looking at her husband's teary eyed best friend made her tear up too. "Oh Bob…"

"No, no," Bob suddenly said shaking his head quite firmly. "I told myself I wasn't do this. Not yet anyways," he gave a small smile and Kitty couldn't help the tearful laugh, she knew Bob was a crier. But right now he was really trying not to be, he drew in a deep breath and tried to keep his voice strong. "Kitty, you've always been there for me, like when Midgy left me, or when I moved back to Point Place and you helped me find my apartment, and well anytime I'm in the mood for some fried cheese."

The pair shared another small laugh and smile. Bob felt himself losing his strength so he tried to speed up his speech.

"And I just want you two know that if you need it, you can cry on this shoulder," he pointed to his left shoulder before realizing Kitty was standing closer to his right. "Or if you're standing on this side, then this shoulder," his finger traveled to his opposite shoulder now.

"Oh Bob, that is just so sweet," Kitty was past the point of tearing up and now had her own silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

Unfortunately, once Bob saw someone crying there was no way he could keep his tears to himself either.

"Aw jeeze!" Bob exclaimed and then the dam broke. He became a mess of tears and sobs as he threw his arms around Kitty, nearly knocking her over in doing so. "Why'd it have to be him, Kitty? He was so young! I mean sure he didn't really look it but he was. My best friend is gone!"

While Kitty stood there trying to calm Bob's tears as well as process just what had happened, Hyde, Jackie, and Eric turned their heads to look at the daughter of the sobbing man.

Donna shifted in her seat, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and gave them a sort of embarrassed smile, "Well, he did say he'd come by in the morning."

0o0o0o

"You have no idea what's in store for you," Jackie told the image of her smiling self, perched happily on Steven's lap.

She had discovered the old photo minutes ago but couldn't seem to put it down. There was no real way of dating when it had been taken and due to the fact that they were in the basement it could have been taken at any time. Though the color and fashion of her skirt told her it was the winter of 1979, right before everything started going downhill. For not just her and Steven but nearly everyone else they knew in some form or another.

Jackie thought this younger happy version of herself was overly naïve, dumb even, to think she was too pretty to have bad things happen to her. Part of her even felt envious of that nativity.

It was still a nice photo though, she had on a beautiful outfit and it was a nice moment with Steven; she tossed it on the table into her own pile of photos to keep.

"Hey."

Lifting her head, Jackie saw Hyde walking in from the kitchen.

"Oh hi," she scooted over, making room for him to sit on the sofa. "Did Mr. Pinciotti finally stop crying?"

Hyde took the seat and rubbed his hands over his face then focusing on his still throbbing temples. "Yeah. He finished the last of the cheesy potatoes from this mornin' too." Jackie nodded but wasn't too surprised, she knew the man's love of cheese. "He's stayin' the night here on the couch. Mrs. Forman doesn't want him driving back this late at night."

"Oh, then I better get going before she realizes I'm still here too," Jackie gathered her photos and stood up.

She had already spent the previous night here, even if it was unknown by Mrs. Forman at the time, Jackie really didn't want to overstay her welcome with other members of the house. Particularly the one whose room she'd stolen by staying there. Realizing her keys were in her purse and her purse was in the kitchen with Mrs. Forman and Mr. Pinciotti (and the crusty cheese pan from the potatoes he was probably still picking at), she cursed herself silently.

"You know she's not wrong, Jackie," remarked Hyde.

Jackie turned herself away from the swinging door and towards Steven. Her surprise from his comment was short-lived when the idea sending him to the kitchen to get her purse for her entered into her mind. She could still get out of here!

"Oh come on, Steven," she sat back down and swatted his knee playfully. "This is Point Place, how dangerous can the streets really be?"

He didn't have to say or do anything; Jackie realized the answer as soon as she voiced the question. They both now knew how dangerous those streets could be in the dark and on slick icy roads.

The image of the Steven hurrying towards the overturned Toyota filled Jackie's mind and she swallowed the stinging feeling in her throat. "Okay, okay, you're right," she nodded. "I'll stay. But this time I'll sleep on the couch in the basement so you can have your old room back."

"Nah, it's cool," Hyde didn't even consider the idea. "I don't mind sleeping out on the sofa, man. It's got a TV, figured there might be some late-night movie on."

Distracting oneself with some cheap looking late-night movie sounded a lot better than trying to get to sleep by counting sheep and hoping some horrid memory from the accident didn't pop its way in between any sheep.

Her brow arched with interest. "Late night movie huh? Would you mind some company?"

"If you want, yeah." Hyde shrugged. The as if to assure her he really wouldn't mind, he gave her a small smirk. "That'd be cool."

"Whatever," she returned the Zen and smirk with a shy smile of her own.

Just yesterday the two had been using their ways of Zen to get the other riled up and angry. And now, here they were using it as they made plans to spend more time together to watch a late-night movie on TV. However, if they had learned anything lately it was that big changes in one's life could happen in over just the course of a few hours.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Next chapter is one you don't want to miss! We're gonna flashforward just a tiny bit. Something big is going to happen. There will be more Jackie and Hyde interaction as they leave the Forman house for another destination. And did I mention something big was going to happen?_

 _I'm really excited and nervous for the next chapter, we've been building up to it for a while. I also want to make sure you guys are caught up and ready for the next chapter and the next arc of this story before I post again so please make sure you review even a small that says 'I'm ready!' lol I really do hope you guys are as excited as I am!_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	21. Chapter 20: Wish You Were Here

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone, how are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have for you a new chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" and I hope you are excited about it as I am, cuz it's a big one! Won't take up too much of your time to read it but I just wanted to say thank you so, so much to all of you wonderful readers who took the time to read and review last chapter it really means so much! All of the support and encouragement you all have given the story is amazing and it means so much thank you! Sorry it's taken so long to get here but I hope you enjoy the chapter, please review if you can, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Really hope you guys like this chapter I'm both super excited and al super duper nervous but here we go! Thank you again for all of the incredible support! Thanks for reading, hope you like and as always, please, Enjoy!_

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"So,"

"So…"

The two stood before each other, neither making eye contact but neither trying to back away from the other either. Since their breakup the longest continuous amount of time Jackie and Hyde had spent together was around 18 hours that one Christmas when Mrs. Forman had insisted they all spend the night for. But now they had just spent the past two days and two nights together and it had been nice; so nice in fact that it now made it awkward to say goodbye—even though they'd be seeing the other in less than 12 hours.

"Well, thanks for driving me home," Jackie looked up at him, then remembering she'd already said this at least twice before in the car she smiled and added. "You really didn't have to do that."

"Fez drove your car back here earlier today," his unshaded eyes met hers.

"I could have walked." She pointed this out with a slight jut of her chin, then shrugged her shoulders. "Not that I need the exercise but sometimes it's nice to just take a walk. In the snow…the cold, freezing snow…late at night…in the dark," Jackie's daydream of a pleasant walk home had suddenly turned into a nightmare and she was filled with a fresh sense of gratitude for the lift home she'd gotten. "Thank you so much for driving me back home, Steven."

He bowed his head into a nod. "Yeah, don't worry 'bout it. Your place is on the way to mine."

Jackie wordlessly took off her coat and flung it on the back of her sofa. She wasn't about to spoil his kind gesture by pointing out they had driven past his apartment building on their way over to hers. It also occurred to Jackie that maybe Steven wanted a small break away from The Forman house. He'd never say it out loud of course, just thinking it must have filled him with guilt, but the way he stood in her apartment without making the slightest of attempts to leave, spoke volumes.

She didn't even have to think about what she asked next.

"Do you wanna stay for a while? I could make us some…" Jackie cut herself off, he was already feeling bad enough, she didn't want to make him feel worse with one of her cooking attempts. Luckily there was a large, warm Tupperware container in her arms that she suddenly remembered she had been given. "I could warm us up some of the leftovers Mrs. Forman gave me."

Trying to entice his appetite, Jackie swayed the container in front of her.

Hyde's lips twitched into a smirk. "Nah, think we're supposed to stock that up for the apocalypse or somethin'."

Shrugging her shoulders, Jackie knew she couldn't argue with that; especially since Mrs. Forman had packed up and given out several of these Tupperware boxes that were not only large in size but heavy in weight. The only reasons Jackie had come home with a single one was because it was all she could carry.

But forgetting about plastic food containers and the extensive cooking Mrs. Forman had gone back to doing, Jackie realized she didn't really want Steven to leave yet. And unless Michael had spilled superglue in that exact spot on the carpet where he remained standing on, Steven didn't want to leave either.

"We could sit," she suggested.

It was a simple suggestion but sometimes simple things could go a long way.

"Yeah," he nodded finally uprooting his feet away from the door. "Sittin's cool."

Hyde and Jackie made their way towards the center of the small living room where Jackie's furniture of a matching sofa and oversized armchair had been set up. They both took a seat on the sofa. It was nice not having to avoid sitting too close to the other in order to prevent any uncomfortable situations or the possibility of an exchange of bitter remarks. But mostly it was nice just to be able to sit beside each other again.

"So you said you were going back to your apartment. Are you sleeping there tonight too?"

"Nah, just goin' to pick up a few things I'm gonna need for tomorrow." Hyde scratched the slight stubble on his cheek. "Then I'm heading back to the Formans'. Mean I could've stayed there you know, but I don't want Mrs. Forman bein' alone and all."

Jackie could have pointed out that Mrs. Forman wouldn't be alone if he decided not to go back. Eric and Donna were still there and though Bob had finally gone back home, earlier in the day they had seen the arrival of Kitty's sister Paula and later Red's overly emotional brother Marty. However, because she knew how important Mrs. Forman was to Steven and how important it was to him that he was there for her, Jackie said nothing and simply nodded understating.

"That was nice of you. Being all alone in that house is gonna be tough on her." Jackie hugged her arms around herself, just imaging herself in Kitty's place. It wasn't very hard and when she looked around her apartment she sighed, "I'm not exactly looking forward to being alone in my apartment right now."

"Hey, come on," his soft voice drew her attention back towards him. "You're not gonna be alone."

Instantly, Jackie's right eyebrow rose up with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You've got Mighty Mouse here to protect you," Hyde's reminder came with a very amused looking smirk.

"Oh my God, you're right!" she wailed just before dropping her head into her hands. "I have a mouse in my apartment!"

His smirk was growing into a smile. "That you do."

"Don't laugh, Steven," Though he hadn't let out a hearty chuckle, Jackie could hear the laughter in his voice. "It's not funny."

She gave him a sharp glare but it didn't appear to intimidate him very much. "From my vantage point, doll, it's pretty funny."

"Steven, this is not funny," Jackie repeated once more, this time with a noticeable crack near the end.

It was the tremble of her voice paired with the way her shoulders slumped when she threw her face back into her hands, that wiped Hyde's smile right from his lips. While he was aware of the fact that Jackie was sensitive to the subject of her little houseguest, Hyde hadn't meant to make her this upset.

"Jackie, come on," his voice softened with his gentle coaxing. "Don't cry, man."

"Don't tell me what to do," was the muffled reply Jackie gave.

"You told me not to laugh," Hyde couldn't help pointing out.

"Because you were laughing at me," she explained, lifting her upper body from it's bent over position. Her eyes were as glassy as they'd been these past few days and she roughly ran her nails against her scalp, pushing her hair up and away from her face. "Besides you're not the one with a stupid mouse in your apartment!"

Hyde sighed softly. "Jackie, man, it's just a mouse. It's not somethin' to get worked up about."

"Yes, it is! Don't you get it?" her hand thrust out in front of her for any emphasis her emotions might not have given. "I have a mouse in my apartment and I'm never gonna get rid of it!"

"You're gonna get rid of…"

"No!" her interruption was sharp and harsh. Jackie didn't want to hear another word of what he said. "No, I'm not. I've got a mouse in my home and I'm never gonna be able to get rid of it because Mr. Forman was supposed to help me." Just saying his name made her throat sting. "He was supposed to come by Sunday—today. And he was gonna help me get rid of this thing but now he…he can't. He can't help me. He can't help any of us ever again."

The last few words of Jackie's speech quivered and the moment she reached the end of it she burst into the tears she had been trying so hard to keep in. She cried heavily and loudly, her sobs not even subsiding when she felt warmth coming from her right side and the soft hand rubbing her back.

It was Steven, Jackie knew this. And normally having him there to comfort her would help lessen her tears and make her feel better—even before they were dating, he had this way about him that made you believe everything would get better—but not this time. His touch made Jackie cry even harder than she was doing before.

She felt so selfish.

"Jackie, it's alright," Hyde soothed, pushing back her long tresses that had fallen into her face. "Come on, doll."

Though it took a few moments, Jackie's sobs subsided into sniffles. She lifted her head back up and looked over at Hyde.

"I'm sorry, Steven," she said wiping her tears from her eyes and flushed face. "I'm sorry. It's just, well you always saw Mr. Forman as a father figure. And I have too these last few years. All of us have at some point or another. And we're all still so young and _so_ _stupid_." Some more than others, but Jackie could admit to doing some dumb stuff in her past. "How are we supposed to live out our lives without Mr. Forman here to help us out? I mean who's gonna give us worldly wisdom when we need it?"

Hyde solemnly nodded his head in agreement. "Who's gonna call us dumbasses when we're bein' dumbasses?"

"Exactly!"

Her exclamation made Hyde smirk but when she turned to look at him she herself still wasn't smiling.

"I don't wanna be roommates with a mouse!" she wailed just before dropping her head back into her hands again.

"It's gonna be okay, man," Hyde hugged her shoulders, pulling her closer to his side.

Jackie didn't stiffen or pull away because even if the gesture didn't stop her tears, it did feel too nice to move away from. It felt, warm and comforting—welcomed. When his left hand rubbed her left shoulder, she sat straighter and had to resist the urge to lean her head on his shoulder.

"I get it, Jackie. Not the whole furry roommate thing but I mean I'm still tryin' to figure out how we're gonna get by without Red's sage advice…but Mrs. Forman's gotten pretty good at callin' people dumbasses when she really needs to," Hyde pointed out bringing out a feeble smile from her lips. "And I'll help you get rid of Jerry."

The use of the name Jerry puzzled Jackie until she connected the name to a little brown cartoon mouse and then she found herself overcome with an emotion she hadn't felt so strongly in days: joy. It felt odd to feel so happy but Steven's words made her feel like she'd been promised an all expense paid trip to Hawaii.

"Oh my God, Steven, you will?" both her hands covered her hopeful heart.

He nodded, "Yeah. I mean it'll have to be after all you know, all this gets settled but yeah. I'll help you."

"Oh Steven, thank you," Jackie toned down her excitement and grabbed Hyde's hand in hers. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Yeah, well," Hyde slowly slid his arm off her, almost like he didn't want to, and intertwined his hands between his open legs; giving him something to look at when he awkwardly kept his gaze downwards. "Consider it my thank you to you."

Curiously she cocked her head to the right. "To me? For what?"

"For you know, the past few days," Hyde's eyes shifted to her a few times but for the most part averted themselves to his knuckles. He must've regretted going another day without his shades. "Forman and I weren't exactly in the best state and we didn't help out as much as we should've. Red would've kicked both our asses for that," he said with a chuckle. "But you and Donna, man, you really took charge and helped out a lot. I know Mrs. Forman appreciated it."

Noticing the way he'd quickly tacked on that last sentence, Jackie couldn't help but smile. "Anyone else?"

"Oh yeah, I mean probably Forman," he answered and just before her smile vanished he finally looked Jackie in the eyes and added, "And definitely me. Thanks for bein' there Jackie."

"You're welcome, Steven."

Hyde drew in a deep breath, untangling his fingers from each other, and placing his hands on his knees. "Guess I better get goin'. Gotta long day lined up for us tomorrow."

Following Hyde's lead, Jackie stood up from the sofa and headed for the door. She nodded her head in agreement of his statement but she wasn't feeling at all excited about this big day they had ahead of them, and knew he wasn't looking forward to it either.

He opened the apartment door but didn't step out just yet. "I'll see you tomorrow at the funeral home, right?"

"Actually," Jackie nervously twiddled with her fingers. It wasn't exactly a big deal but she didn't want to seem too intrusive. "I was thinking of getting up early and stopping by the house first. That way I could help Mrs. Forman, or anyone else who needs help. I'd leave with you guys to the funeral…if that's okay."

"Yeah, yeah that'd be good," Hyde agreed faster than Jackie thought he would but she tried not to look too surprised. "I'm sure that would mean a lot. To Mrs. Forman."

Jackie tried to hide her smile by covering her mouth. She didn't mean to laugh but he was doing it again.

"What?" he asked confused.

This time she didn't try it conceal her grin. "You sounded just like him."

A smirk broke on Hyde's lips. "Yeah, I did. Pretty scary huh?"

"Not really," as Jackie shook her head, it tilted to the side just a tad. "It's kinda nice to see him living on us."

"Yeah," Hyde kept a bowed stance as he continued his exit; the moment he was out in the hallway though he lifted his head back up and turned to look inside the apartment. "Hey, if you wanna skip ahead and start lookin' in the yellow pages for an exterminator that's cool. I'll help you cover the cost if you want. Don't know how long it's gonna take for things to calm down over at Forman's, and I know you're not big on the idea of having Mighty Mouse as a roomie."

"Ugh, Mighty Mouse," Jackie groaned, both embarrassed and frustrated. "You know, maybe I'd be a little more okay with the idea if Fez hadn't given the thing such a dumb name."

Hyde jerked his head back at hearing this. "Yeah?"

"Maybe," she shrugged her shoulders. "I mean if it were a classy enough name then I might forget we were talking about a mouse."

"Like Marvin?" Hyde threw out the first fancy sounding name that came to mind.

"Marvin. Yeah, Marvin the mouse…" Jackie's trial of the name quickly turned sour. "Yeah, that wouldn't work either. Let's face it Steven, I just cannot have a mouse living here."

Smirking faintly, he knew it was time to go. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jackie."

"Goodnight, Steven," she leaned against the edge of her front door, holding onto the doorknob. "Drive carefully."

It wasn't something Jackie could ever remember telling anyone before, but she had a feeling that after seeing Red's accident scene it would be her new form of goodbye, whenever someone left anywhere.

She stood at her door and watched Steven until he disappeared down the main staircase, giving him one more wave before he descended down the steps. Then Jackie closed the door behind her and leaned her back against it as she looked around her apartment. After being away from it for so long, she thought she'd be happy to be back home and have some quiet time to herself, but the truth was her apartment wasn't just quiet. It was lonely.

Jackie hadn't felt this alone in a long time.

Luckily though the feeling didn't last very long when she recalled what Hyde had said about her not really being alone. The thought made her a shudder run down her spine. She needed to get this mouse out of her house!

With this thought in mind, Jackie marched over towards her sofa, grabbing her phonebook off her side table as she did so. She'd take Steven up on his offer of helping her get rid of the thing themselves but if it took too long she needed to have a backup plan ready to go. Sitting on the sofa Jackie placed the book on her lap and flipped open the tinted pages to the 'E's.

"Damn it, don't tell me you're thinking of going with one of those so-called professionals."

The moment Jackie heard the voice her blood ran cold. Briefly she told herself it was Steven who'd come back to the apartment but she knew it couldn't be. It wasn't Steven's voice.

"You do it that way and you'll not only be paying an arm and a leg for some damn mousetraps worth a couple of bucks but you'll be setting yourself up for a cycle of this every few months," the voice continued to grumble. It sounded as strong as ever. "Trust me. We do it my way and we'll not only catch the little bastard with a couple of cheap mousetraps but we'll get the job done once and for all."

She didn't want to look up. She kept her eyes glued to the listing of 'Bob the Bug Guy.' She was too frightened at the idea of what she might possibly find if she looked up. However, as she gripped the edges of the books, she convinced herself that looking up and finding nothing there would be the only way to convince her it had been her imagination and hopefully ease the uneasy feeling twisting in her stomach.

Cautiously Jackie lifted her head and turned in the direction of where she thought she'd heard the voice coming from. She was so convinced she was going to see her empty living room that the sight she did find shook the lights of out of her. Taken back in shock, Jackie's eyes widened in shock and she was sure she felt her heart jump into her throat.

"Mr. Forman?" she somehow managed to ask.

It was him. There was no denying it. It was Mr. Forman, Red Forman. The man she saw being covered with a white sheet before wheeled off into the back of the medical examiners van. The man she'd spent the past two days helping plan a funeral for. It was him. And he was standing in her apartment.

He looked exactly like she'd remembered him looking when they had their last conversation in the driveway; flannel button down shirt, brown jacket, and deep but familiar frown set in on his forehead.

That scowl seemed to be growing deeper as he stared back at her.

"Look, I know I'm getting here a little later than we agreed but it's still Sunday and I'm here so let's get started. Now you said you saw it in the kitchen, right?"

All Jackie could do was gawk at what her mind was making her believe she saw. Her eyes followed this mirage making its way to her kitchen but the fact that she wasn't following didn't seem to make it very happy.

"What the hell are you looking at me like that for?" Her hallucination asked her. "Ah jeeze, don't tell me those dumbasses got to you too. Are you on dope?"

This sounded so much like Mr. Forman it was scary.

Jackie shook her head back and forth. It started off slowly then when she shut her eyes, her head moved more rapidly, her loose hair shaking out of place.

"No," her voice trembled then suddenly gained great power. "No. No, you're not here."

Red's mirage appeared confused. "What are you…"

"You can't be here!" Jackie declared with such force, she used some of it to stand up. "You can't really be here because you're dead."

Overwhelmed with so many emotions, Jackie covered her face and turned around—missing the hurt expression that presented itself on the Red Forman mirage. Jackie could feel the tears stringing her eyes again but tried blinking them away while staring ahead at her shut front door. She refused to let herself turn around and allow her imagination to continue to play these cruel tricks on her.

"You're not here. You can't be," her voice was cracking but she didn't care. She was alone, she was sure of it, no one was hearing what she said. "It's impossible. I…I'm imagining it that's all. That's what it has to be," she sounded like she was talking to herself, her hands gesturing about. "It's because I was talking to Steven. Crying, wishing you still here _but you're not_. It's all in my head. It's not real. You're not really here. You can't really…"

She had somehow managed to turn herself around during her speech and found herself staring at the wall opposite of her front door and straight ahead towards her kitchen.

"Be here," Jackie whispered to her now empty living room.

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 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _I really hope that you guys liked the chapter, I'm more than a little nervous/excited about it. It's taken a while to get here and I just hope it hasn't let anyone down. We've still got a pretty long way to go! :D_

 _Next chapter we'll see the family preparing to leave to Red's funeral, another familiar face will make an appearance, and we'll see if Jackie brings up what happened at her apartment to anyone._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	22. Chapter 21: Come Monday

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! Today I have for you a new chapter of "If You Ever Did Believe" I am so glad that you all liked the last chapter and the big event that happened. I promise, it won't take too long for the next appearance of Red's spirit to happen. Thank you all for the incredible support it really means so much! I'm very sorry I wasn't able to send any sneak peeks or thank you notes to anyone before posting this chapter but this past week had been crazy, work is starting up again in fact soon after posting it I'll be heading off there for the first official day! And while I didn't want to delay posting the next chapter for you guys I did feel bad about not thanking you first, so let me thank you now, Thank you! I mean it, your support of me and this story mean so very much! Thanks very much for reading, please review if you can, I'd really love to hear your thoughts, first time reviewers or loyal readers all of you are awesome! Not gonna take any more of your time, thanks for reading, please review if you can, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

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Jackie's eyes were heavy with sleep, she was so exhausted that not even her walk through the cold winter morning breeze had done much to wake her up. She was running on three hours sleep, maybe even less. Sleep just hadn't come easy to her the night before.

The apartment was too quiet and then whenever she heard the slightest sound like a dripping faucet it was all too loud for her. That frightening hallucination of Mr. Forman hadn't helped either. She had laid in bed thinking about why she'd seen in it, scared that if she closed her eyes for too long when she woke up she'd be faced with the vision of him again.

Whenever she succumbed to sleep it hadn't been very restful. Her dreams were more like nightmares that she could only escape from by waking up.

There had been the nightmare about the Red hallucination coming back and calling her a dumbass while refusing to leave her apartment. Then she dreamed about the last time she talked to Red out on the driveway, she tried warning him about leaving but he didn't listen and her subconscious painted a gruesome picture of his car accident. And then there was the weirdest, probably worst nightmare of all of her walking into her kitchen and finding a family of overgrown mice sitting at her breakfast table.

She shook her head, trying to keep those images from reentering her mind. As she stopped shaking, she realized she had made it to the Formans' driveway and a sudden energized feeling filled her. Not the excited kind but the kind that made her more alert because she knew she had to be.

Her newfound awareness had her noticing the view that the kitchen's glass sliding doors framed. Steven Hyde sitting at the round white table, alone in the room, eating from one of the yellow cereal bowls. She approached the doors, her heels clicking on the cold slippery pavement but Hyde had yet to notice or hear her.

He was wearing his black suit with a light gray shirt, Jackie always thought he looked handsome in that suit and even on a sad occasion like today's the thought still managed to find its way into her mind. The green tie he wore had a familiarity to it that made her smile.

Jackie pulled the door to the left and stepped into the room, wearing a soft smile. "Hi,"

"Hey," Hyde looked up and greeted her; his eyes looked as tired as hers felt on her way over here.

Walking towards the table, Jackie prepared to take a seat in the chair at his left until she remembered that the chair had been Red's. She didn't want another Red illusion popping up on her today! With a quick turn on her heal, Jackie opted for the chair on Hyde's left—which coincidently was the one much closer to him.

So close in fact she could peek into his bowl and found he was in fact eating cold cereal.

"No five course breakfast this morning?" she teased lightly.

"Nah," Hyde stirred his spoon in the milk. "Think Mrs. Forman finally left her grieving stage of overcooking and dove straight into depression last night. She was pretty upset a little while after I got back."

Looking around the room, there weren't as many pots and pans out as the days before. And the only breakfast food on the countertops was the green box of _Apple_ _Jacks_. It made Jackie's heart drop.

"Oh no."

"Yeah, but hey, look." Hyde didn't have to look up to see the sadden, guilt-ridden expression on Jackie's face but he did. "Don't go feelin' bad or anything. There wouldn't have been anything you could've done if you'd stayed the night. She kicked Forman and me to the basement for a good while and her sister was the only one she'd let into her bedroom with her. She's up there now helpin' Mrs. Forman get ready."

Jackie nodded her head, relieved that Mrs. Forman had her sister to help her though this difficult time too. That's one reason Jackie had always wished she had a sister. Someone to confide secrets to, someone to grow up with, someone to help her through the rough times when no one else really could. Having a sister would have come in handy a lot these past few years.

The clanking of the metal spoon on the ceramic bowl, pulled Jackie from her thoughts.

She watched Hyde playing with his food, having little interest in eating it. "Looks like you had a pretty rough night too."

"That obvious huh?" his eyes were tired but had the tiniest bit of sparkle in them when he gave her a weak lopsided grin.

"Not really," Jackie shrugged a shoulder. "It's just a lot easier for me to notice, especially since you're not wearing your glasses."

Hyde's smirk instantly disappeared. It was as if the mention of the sunglasses seemed to upset him. This made Jackie suspicious, more so when she remembered he hadn't been wearing them these past few days. She prepared to ask him about the sudden disappearance of his shades but he was already speaking.

"Couldn't sleep is all," Hyde shared, his unshaded eyes averted to his uneaten breakfast. "Kept having weird dreams."

Her eyes widened the moment she heard this. "Oh my God, me too! About Mr. Forman?"

"Yeah," he looked at her frowning slightly. _How did she know?_

"Me too!" Jackie's hand flew to her chest. Maybe she wasn't alone in this Mr. Forman Hallucination thing! "And oh my God, Steven, the strangest thing happened after you left."

Curious, Hyde had to ask, "What?"

Just as Jackie opened her mouth to speak the kitchen's swinging door was noisily pushed open. Turning her head, Jackie quickly spotted Donna walking into the room, her somber expression making her dark attire even more gloomy. Jackie knew Donna was already going through enough with Eric and his grieve process as well as her own, Jackie didn't want to put this burden on her either. Plus, who knew if Donn had had any strange Red dreams the night before too; Jackie knew Steven had and already felt like this could be something he understood.

"I'll tell you later," Jackie whispered to him before getting up from her seat to greet her best friend. "Hi, Donna."

"Hey Jackie."

The pair embraced in a hug. They had just seen each other a few hours ago but each girl understood that the other could use a hug at a time like this.

While hugging her friend and feeling comforted by the hugs she was getting in return, Jackie couldn't help but think about the idea of sisters again. She may not have ever gotten a younger sister biologically but she did have the best lumberjack big sister in her best friend.

"Where's Forman, man?" Hyde asked, waiting until the two had ended their hug.

"I just saw him putting on his suit and…Oh God, I think I'm gonna be sick," A queasy expression appeared on Donna's face, her hand rubbing over her stomach.

Jackie tsked and shook her head. "I told him he needs to use padding if he wants to have shoulders and actually look normal."

"It's not Eric that making me sick, Midget," Donna said with a frown. "It's just my stomach…"

Hyde was up on his feet, "I'll make you some toast."

"Thanks," the redhead smiled faintly while making her way to the table; she really needed to sit down. When she was seated, Donna noticed the unusual quietness of the room. "Where's Kelso and Fez?"

"They're meeting us over there," Hyde explained, sticking two slices of bread into the toaster.

Donna and Jackie, who had made her way closer to the table and was leaning against the breakfast bar, exchanged looks of worry. A whole new wave of nausea washed over Donna and Jackie noticing this, realized she would have to be the one to say something or risk having Donna barf all over the place.

"Um, are you sure that's such a good idea, Steven?"

Frowning, Hyde turned away from his task and shifted his attention towards the table and the women around it.

"Yeah," Donna managed to agree. "I mean Red didn't like being left alone with them when he was alive, you really think being dead's gonna change that?"

"Look, I just figured it was easier than having them here and Mrs. Forman having to deal with them." He informed, slightly annoyed that he had to defend his decision like this.

Jackie moved her head up and down. "That's true and your heart was in the right place, Steven."

"But?" Hyde knew it was coming, there was no need to beat around the bush.

"Well, I'm just worried because they're always saying how people should go out with a bang," Jackie felt uneasy just talking about it. "I'm worried about what kind of bang they might have planned for Mr. Forman."

"Did you check them for fireworks?" Donna was the one to ask.

The question made Hyde glower. "It's a funeral, man."

"That's not gonna stop them, Steven," argued Jackie, having dated Michael Kelso for years she had experience in this. "Once at my great aunt's funeral, Michael tried to stick a lit sparkler in her hands to help lighten up the mood."

Hyde heaved a sigh. "Bob and Red's brother Marty are there, they'll keep the idiots from getting out of control."

"Hyde, both of them were crying their eyes out when they left," reminded Donna, having been there to wave them off a while ago. "There's no way they're seeing anything clearly through those tears."

"W.B.'s there, alright?" irritation was starting to seep out into his tone. "He'll handle things till we get there."

Luckily that seemed to be enough to quiet the questions and concerns from the women. W.B. was a trusted member of the family and he and Hyde were pretty similar to one another, if Kelso or Fez tried to do anything mischievous, he'd stop them.

Again, the swinging door was pushed open and more dark attire entered the kitchen, this one though having a few small dashes of a very bright pink.

"Hiya, kids."

All three of them looked over and saw Kitty's sister Paula entering the room with a faint smile on her lips. The faintness of her smile though took nothing away from its warmth. They each promptly gave their own greetings of 'hello' and 'good mornings.'

"Oh Paula, this is Jackie," Hyde introduced when Paula stopped just a foot or so away from Jackie.

The older woman's grin grew, "I know. I met her last night," she reminded Hyde then turned to Jackie, "It's nice to see you again, Jackie."

"You too," Jackie returned the smile.

Meanwhile Hyde had slunk back to finish Donna's toast. He couldn't help feeling more than a bit embarrassed for forgetting that Jackie had been at the house when Paula arrived but so much had happened last night he was lucky he remembered how to get dressed this morning.

"You know, that is a very pretty funeral outfit you've put together," Paula admired the ensemble. "A nice touch of color you've got there too."

Jackie touched the dark blue scarf that was wrapped around her neck, knowing that was the touch of color Paula was referring to. "Thank you, I know it's a funeral but all black is so bleh for me. Yours is nice too, I really like it."

Paula continued to smile, this girl had good fashion taste. And like Jackie, Paula knew exactly what touch of color Jackie had been referring too. The pink floral print on her coverup—although hers might have been more of a splash than a touch.

"Yeah, well I know Luscious Blushes pink… or as Red liked to call it Pepto-Bismol pink," Paula recalled the memory with a growing smile. "it might not be the most funeral feeling color but working this job for so long it just felt odd not to have this color in my attire."

"That's right, you're a Kathy May saleswoman!" Jackie sounded like she'd run into a famous celebrity on the street.

"Not just _a_ Kathy May saleswoman," pointed out Paula with an index finger cutting through the air. "But one of the _top_ _ten_ Kathy May saleswomen! Remind me later and I'll get you some samples of our new line."

Never one to turn down an opportunity for new makeup, Jackie eagerly nodded her head. She wanted to thank Mrs. Forman's sister but before she could get the chance Hyde had cut into their conversation.

"How's Mrs. Forman doin'?" he wanted to know.

Hand on hip, Paula eyed the young man before her. "You're really not one of the sugar coated types are you? More of the cut straight to the crap huh?"

Donna and Jackie looked at one another, exchanging shocked expressions at hearing Kitty's sister use foul language. They certainly weren't used to hearing Mrs. Forman use it so freely. Hyde didn't care though and just wanted to know how Mrs. Forman was and Paula could see this.

She dropped her hand from her hip and with it fell the smile on her face. There was a small sigh and she looked at the group.

"She's not good kids," it pained her to say and the looks on the trio's faces said it hadn't been easy to hear either. "The last time I saw Kitty this upset was when Red first left for Korea. She had been so afraid she was gonna loose him, that she'd never see him again. And now, well now she knows she won't."

Jackie was sure that these words had broken off a chunk of her heart.

" _But_! She's gonna be okay!" Paula quickly stated, trying her best to sound as hopeful as she really was, hopefully it would help these sad looking kids. "I've known my sister my whole life and she's very strong woman who is gonna make it through this," her determined voice softened. "But we're gonna need to let her grieve. She's gonna need some time. And I know having all of you kids here to help her out is really going to go a _very_ long way."

Paula wanted to make sure they knew how much them being here was good for Kitty. She wanted to make sure they knew they were appreciated. The girls seemed to feel it and smiled back in return. Steven though was a stubborn one that just stared back at her.

Before more could be said the door leading in from the living room was pushed open and they all turned to see Kitty entering the kitchen with Eric at her side, holding her hand.

"Good morning," Kitty greeted them with the best smile she could manage. She could already feel the corners of her lips trembling but was determined to be stronger for at least a little bit longer.

"Hi, Mrs. Forman," "Good morning" and the like of welcomes were given by the others as they watched her and Eric step further into the kitchen.

Donna took one more bite from her toast Hyde had handed her moments ago and stood up. She felt odd being the only one sitting down and wanted to be close to her boyfriend. As soon as he let go of his mother's hand he was holding Donna's.

Kitty caught sight of the scene and it helped keep her quaky smile in place. Hyde worried though that Forman and Donna's hand holding might make Kitty sadder by reminding her she'd never hold Red's hand again, so he spoke up hoping to steal her attention.

"Hey Mrs. Forman, you want me to make you something to eat?" he offered but was Kitty didn't reply. She was looking in his direction but not meeting his eyes, her smile was gone too. Confused and worried Hyde asked, "What?"

It took Kitty a moment before she could speak; she pressed her lips tightly together as she looked for her voice. When she finally found it, it was more tearful than usual. "You're wearing one of Red's ties too."

Hyde then realized that her eyes had been focused on the long green stripped material that hung from his neck. Her hand reached out to gently caress the material.

"Oh yeah, it was Forman's idea," he replied, one hand joining hers on the tie while the other gestured towards Eric who had on the red colored tie Red had worn during his days as PriceMart Manager. "All us guys are wearing one, you know to show Red we could wear other stuff 'sides our ratty t-shirts…I mean if you think it's okay."

"I think it's _very_ sweet," she said locking her tearful eyes on Hyde's. A new smile broke onto her lips "I have two of the sweetest boys a mother could ask for."

Lifting her hand up she pulled Hyde's head down to her level so she could kiss his cheek and after sharing a smile with her adopted son, she repeated the actions with Eric. Each kiss and smile carried great love and appreciation, Kitty knew she was very lucky to have her boys with her at this time.

And it wasn't just her boys she was thankful for. Catching a glimpse of Donna and Jackie standing off to the side, Kitty couldn't let them go unrecognized.

"Oh and you girls too! Come here," she waved them into her open arms and the two younger women walked into the big hug. "Oh, you girls have been such a big help. Thank you for being here, dears."

Jackie smiled, carefully pulling from the embrace. "You're welcome, Mrs. Forman."

"We wouldn't be anywhere else," added Donna.

Paula had been watching on from the sidelines. She really was happy her sister had this great group of kids to rally around her; she meant what she said about their presence helping Kitty a great deal. This scene before her just further proved her intuition. She hated to break it up.

"We really should be going," Paula used soft tones and touched Kitty's arm gently. "People will be showing up soon."

Closing her eyes, Kitty nodded. "Oh yes, right of course. You kids get in the car, I'm just gonna grab some fruit to settle my stomach."

The group knew better than to argue with Kitty and they wordlessly grabbed their coats and needed keys before exiting out to the driveway. Eric and Donna left hand in hand, each leaning on the other—literally and figuratively. Seeing the pair walk off in front of her Jackie casually offered her hand to Hyde, almost doing so without thinking about it. He stared at her open palm and then up at her face, smiled his thanks before taking her hand in his.

As the kids left outside, Paula kept her coat in her arms and waited silently by the shut door. She watched Kitty rummaged through the fridge for several moments before shutting it and heading over to the stove, her hands remaining empty.

"Kitty, I thought you were grabbing some fruit."

"No, no, I don't think my stomach could handle anything right now," Kitty said as she crouched down to get a better look at the knobs on the stove. "But I just remembered that I might've left the stove on."

Slowly, Paula shook her head and stepped toward her older sister, "Kitty, you didn't leave the stove on."

"Then it was the iron," Kitty shot back up and turned to give the oven her back. "I need to go to the basement and turn off the iron."

Paula reached out and grabbed her sister's arm before she could take another step, something Kitty was not very happy about. "You didn't leave the iron on."

"How do you know?" Kitty's frown was deep.

"Because you didn't use the iron downstairs."

That reasonable, true explanation wasn't going to stop Kitty though. "Then it was the curling iron that I left on! So need to go upstairs and turn it off…"

"Kitty, honey," Paula kept her grip strong on her sister's limb. "You can't avoid this forever. The kids are already in the car waiting. It's time to say goodbye, honey."

The upset expression Kitty wore on her face crumbled with sorrow. "Oh God, Paula," she sobbed. "It's only been three days and I already miss him so much."

With her heart breaking for her sibling, Paula did the only thing she could; she pulled Kitty into a tight hug that Kitty returned with her own tightening hold. Paula rubbed her back and let her cry for a bit before speaking.

"Oh, I know, honey, I know," she tried to soothe. "But time heals all wounds, you should know you're a nurse!" her joke might not have been met with any laughs but Paula still managed to smile. "It'll get better."

Pulling out of the hug, but not shaking Paula's arm off her shoulders, Kitty wiped her eyes. "I don't know if I can make it to the funeral."

"Oh Kitty, you've got to. If you don't you know you'll regret it for the rest of your life," Paula was swift to argue; she couldn't believe her sister was actually considering the idea of not going. "And think about Red. How would he feel if his funeral was attended only by the kids and the blubbering duo that were here?"

"Oh, he'd hate it," said Kitty with a faint laugh.

Again, Paula nodded, "Yeah, he would. So you gotta go," she gave Kitty a small squeeze. "And look, once the funeral stuff is over with you can go back to bed and grieve for a few days. I'll even go in there with you."

Kitty stared at her younger sister with a puzzlement, it was a look that didn't go unnoticed by Paula.

"Yeah, it doesn't have to be all about the grieving and crying, we'll try to have fun too." Her smile was stretching back into place even if Kitty's hadn't yet. "It'll be like when we were kids. We'll eat junk food, read trashy stories, tell raunchy jokes, do each other's hair, and talk about how mom drove us crazy."

It may not have been a full smile but a tiny one had found its way to Kitty's lips. "That does sound nice."

"I'm here for you, sis," assured Paula.

Sniffling, Kitty nodded, "Okay." She then drew in a deep breath before looking tiredly over at her sister. "You know when all of this is done, I'm going to need a _very_ _strong_ _drink_."

"I'll buy the biggest bottle of scotch they've got," Paula assured her; she of course knew Kitty shouldn't drown her sorrows in alcohol but a few drinks wouldn't hurt her and it had always been her and Red that had tried to keep Kitty from drinking too excessively—for her own good of course. Kitty gave her sister a smile which Paula quickly returned, "Like I said, I'm here for, sis."

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 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Not a whole lot of big events going on here but there were some little moments and hints at upcoming stuff, let's see if anyone caught any of them!_

 _Next chapter will take place at the funeral/celebration of Red's life. We'll see how Kitty and the gang get through the services and a special guest shows up. Could it be Laurie or another hidden family member? Maybe both? We shall see!_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	23. Chapter 22: Insider

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing._

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! I am so, so, so very sorry for taking so long to get this new chapter to you. Life got a bit busy and draining and it was sometimes hard to find the motivation or inspiration to write; but I'm working on it a bit more and was even able to complete this chapter and get it to you all! Thank you all so, so much for all the incredibly amazing support you've given this story, I'm so glad that you're enjoying it so much, there's still much to come and I hope you guys are excited as I am. Thank you so much for stopping by to read, if you have a few moments to review it would really mean a lot. Again I'm so very sorry for taking so long to update, I hope I haven't lost too many of you, will do my best to get the next chapter up soon as long as there are readers still who are reading/enjoying the story. :) Thank you again for reading, please review if you can, hope you like, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

* * *

"Wow," Jackie breathed as she stepped into the funeral home. There were two sections of at least eight pews and almost every single of them was filled.

Hyde was standing beside her, taking in the large group of mourners. "Yeah."

Jackie was still looking around the room, trying to avoid catching a glimpse at what had been set up at the front of the room. Instead, she focused on the crowd of seated people before her; she saw some old familiar faces and some just plain old faces that she didn't recognize at all.

"Who knew Mr. Forman was so loved by the town," she commented, though the truth was she was surprised that Red had so many friends. Jackie knew Red had been a good guy but he was also the type who didn't like friends or people in general.

"Think most of the people here came out of fear than love," Hyde's gazed over the room knowing how much his adopted father would have hated having all these people here. "Afraid if they didn't come pay their respects, Red would haunt the inside of their asses with his foot."

Knowing that Hyde was trying to make her laugh Jackie gave a feeble giggle that hopefully didn't sound as awkward as Jackie felt it had. It didn't sit right in the pit of her stomach to joke about the idea of Red haunting anyone, especially after that ghostly hallucination she had encountered last night.

"Are we gonna have a place to sit?" she asked, lifting herself on her tiptoes as if it would give her a better view of the pews and locating empty seats.

Using his chin, Hyde jutted towards the pew at the very front of the room and farther from where he and Jackie stood. "First row up there's reserved for the family. Forman said we're sittin' up there."

"Oh, okay," Jackie nodded, relieved that at least Steven had somewhere to sit but where was she supposed to go? She scanned the room again, spotting Brooke's chestnut locks in the pew behind the family's empty one. "I think I see Michael and Brooke sitting in the behind yours so I can go sit over there with them and probably Fez…"

Hyde stared at Jackie. Having let her ramble on long enough he cut her off, "Jackie, man, I meant both of us. If that's cool with you and all."

"Oh," she was taken aback by Steven's words when first hearing them but then it all started making sense. Mrs. Forman would have her sister to comfort her, Eric would have Donna's shoulder to lean on, Steven was asking her if she'd sit not just with the family but sit _with him_. He wanted her to be his support during this difficult time and Jackie couldn't help the tiny smile that peeked onto her lips. It was nice to be needed again. "Okay. I'd like that."

"Cool," he nodded but the motion of his head diminished when his stare was caught by something off in the distance in front of them.

Jackie didn't have to follow Hyde's gaze to know what he was looking at. She was trying to avoid the sight herself, the mere thought of it had a lump stinging the inside her throat; but she couldn't cry now. Not when Steven was asking her to be his strength.

She looked up at him, "It's now or never, Steven."

"Yeah, yeah, okay," his chin tucked in towards his neck." But never…Never thought this day would come so soon."

Nodding her head, Jackie knew where Hyde was coming from. Even though she always said Mr. and Mrs. Forman were old, she knew they were still pretty young. Maybe not young like she and Steven were but Red should have had at least a few more good years left for him, enough time to see one of his kids get married, to at least meet his future grandchildren, to take Mrs. Forman on that second honeymoon back to Florida.

"I know," Jackie replied before looping her arms with Hyde's; signaling that it really was time.

After taking a moment to steal a glance with Jackie, Hyde nodded his head, and then together they started taking those heavy steps forward.

Walking past the filled seats, Jackie was positive that they were being watched. She didn't need to look in the direction of the crowd, she could feel the many pairs of eyes on her. She knew Hyde must have felt them too, when she looked up at him she saw that though he was still walking ahead his head was bowed.

The other's in the room might have thought he was saying a silent prayer for the departed man who'd practically raised him; those people obviously didn't know Steven Hyde very well. He must have had his head bowed in attempt to block out the crowd's stares and whispers; it normally would have been something he'd been able to do with his head held high and his shades masking his emotions but four days later and the sunglasses were still missing.

People focusing their attention on her was something Jackie tended to relish in but today, not even her elegantly styled outfit could make her content with their stares. After all, her attire was the last thing they must have been noticing and that didn't help make Jackie feel any better either. She tried to keep her mind off the attention by focusing her own attention on something else in the room, like the flower arrangements.

There were several arrangements of the lilies, carnations, mums, and tiny Monte Casino Blooms all in the shades of white scattered around the room; Jackie thought they looked beautiful, especially since she had helped Mrs. Forman with the choosing of the flowers. The biggest floral wreath there looked to be from the hospital that Kitty worked at, another tastefully designed arrangement was from WB, a few were probably from Red's veteran friends or the association at least that's what Jackie assumed, she couldn't see the card but the overuse of the red, white, and blue scheme was a good clue.

In the back corner of the room there was another rather full spray of flowers, but Jackie had no clue where they'd come from and made a mental note to check for a card before the services were over.

So many flowers filled the room, maybe too many of them considering the fact that Red probably wasn't too big on flowers. Then again, he wasn't big on people either and plenty of them had shown up too. At least the flowers were pretty to look at, even if they didn't smell as pretty as they looked. Most of the sprays contained roses and ever since attending her own grandmother's funeral the overly powdered scent of flower shop roses always reminded her of two things: funerals and death.

That's why she always preferred flowers like lilies, lilacs, hydrangeas flowers that were beautiful and unique like herself.

Before she really realized it, she and Hyde had made it to the front pew. Kelso and Brooke swiftly stood up from their seats in the second pew and there were several hugs and kind whispered words exchanged all around. Fez was sitting there in the second pew with them too but hadn't joined in on the greetings, he just remained seated looking lost in his own thoughts.

Jackie reached over and touched his arm, "Hey Fez."

However, the foreigner remained mute. The last few days Fez had been reminiscing about the memories he had with Red, some memories made them sound too much like close friends for anyone to really believe. Thinking about it now though, Jackie wondered if maybe her friend was dealing with some unresolved guilt from helping cause Red's first heart attack, something that must have done some damage on his heart and possibly played some kind of role in the attack they suspected had ended up killing him.

Kelso had just pulled himself out of the bear hug he'd embraced Hyde with. "Hey man, did you go up there and see Red yet?"

"That is not Red, Kelso," the accented man broke through his silence before Hyde could give his own reply. Fez's words made it evident that even though he had been lost in his own thoughts he had also been hearing what was being said around him. "Mr. Red is no longer with us. He has departed somewhere that is a great distance but at the same time is not so far away from us. Somewhere where he has found peace and serenity. Somewhere we humans will never fully understand until it is our time to leave our shells and ascend into that somewhere."

Fez stared ahead at the mahogany casket Donna and Eric were standing beside. "It is not Red that is in that box but it is his shell."

In the beginning, Jackie nodded along to the things Fez was saying. She thought he was sharing some very profound thoughts however, the deeper his words got the less Jackie moved her head. By the time he got to the part about Red not really being in the coffin, Jackie felt more than a little panicked.

Maybe Fez was right, Red wasn't in that coffin because he was hanging around, haunting her apartment.

"Okay, well Red's shell looks a lot like Red, but like when he was sleeping."

Jackie had never been more relieved to hear Michael Kelso speak, and take the focus off her panic, than she was now. Her relief allowed him to finish his train of thought never considering the kind of runaway train Kelso's thoughts could be rolling on.

"Part of me wants to do something to him to like draw a fake mustache on him or try to wake him up with fireworks…"

"Kelso, man, I'll kick your ass," Hyde growled, fists already clutching at his sides.

"Hyde, relax, I'm not gonna do any of that," assured Kelso and the soft almost sadden tone made the promise actually sound believable. Until he let out a loud exasperated "God! I've gotten a little more mature than that over the years!" His voice became gentle again. "Besides, even if I did any of it, it wouldn't be the same. I know nothing I'd do would wake Red up and make him call me a dumbass… not even just one more time." A sob broke through his statement. "I miss so much!"

The tall man then proceeded to plunge himself in his girlfriend's direction, wrapping his long arms around her slender form and weeping into her shoulder.

"I know, honey, we all do." Brooke soothed and patted Kelso's back, comforting him the same way Jackie had seen her comfort Betsy numerous other times.

It was at the thought of the father daughter similarity that Jackie realized her goddaughter was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Betsy?"

"Oh, we left her with my mother," explained Brooke, rubbing Kelso's back one last time as he straightened up and away from her shoulder, wiping his bleary eyes as he did so. "We'll bring her with us when we go back to The Formans, but we thought the services might be a little too much for her. I hope Mrs. Forman doesn't mind."

Brooke looked over her shoulder, perhaps looking for the woman she was talking about. Of course, she didn't have to worry about Mrs. Forman being upset because Betsy missed out on the funeral. Kitty would probably be the first to agree that the event might a lot to take in for the little girl, it was certainly a lot for the adults who'd grown up in her basement.

Jackie touched the older girl's arm for reassurance. "I'm sure she'll be fine with it. She'll be happy to have Betsy's happy innocence around after the services."

"We all will," commented Hyde.

Again, Jackie nodded. Betsy's childlike innocent would be a sort of nice little bit of light shining through the gray cloud of gloominess that had being hanging above them. Still Jackie hoped they didn't put too much pressure or expectations on Betsy to be the one to cheer them up or worse, allowing their gloomy spirits to overpower and diminish her sunshine.

"If I hadn't seen this with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it."

The sound of the deep familiar voice coming from behind her nearly made Jackie jump, but being around others, she managed to keep her shock under some control. She felt her eyes widening, sure they must have been displaying the horror she felt consuming her; not wanting the group to notice her fear, Jackie turned to her right and found in the seat at the far-right side of the empty first row pew, Red Forman.

Or the illusion of him that her mind had cooked up for her.

Illusion, hallucination, spirit ghost thing…whatever this image of Mr. Forman was, it was here now. At Mr. Forman's funeral and not just at her apartment like Jackie had assumed it would remain. She had even partly hoped that her apartment would be the only place that she'd have contact with this thing because then she would just move out ending the problem with both her unwanted guests.

Swallowing hard, Jackie didn't know what to say. There wasn't anything she really could say without looking like some crazy person talking to herself. When there was no big commotion of gasps, shrieks, or people fainting, Jackie realized that she was must have been the only one who could see Red. And though it must have looked like she was staring at some empty space to everyone else, to Jackie she could see Red, sitting there looking as real and alive as she remembered; she just couldn't take her eyes off this image of him.

But he wasn't looking at her. Instead of being relieved at the idea of being ignored by this hallucination, Jackie curiously twisted her neck to look at the front of the room. It didn't take her very long to spot Donna and Eric making their way from the open coffin to where the rest of them stood. Donna looked drained and poor Eric had never looked sadder, one hand clutching Donna's while the other covered his eyes.

"Oh jeeze is he crying?" the mirage wanted to know. "Tell him just because I'm dead doesn't mean he can cry now."

Instead of listening to whatever Red's voice was telling her, Jackie kept her focus on Steven and Eric, watching them embrace in a quick but strong hug. It wasn't as long or emotional as the one she had seen them share in the kitchen the other night but that didn't mean they weren't both still hurting. Their pain and attempt to support the other were apparent through the tight hold they had on each other followed by the series of strong claps on their shoulders.

"Hey man. You gonna go up there?" Eric asked once he and Hyde has pulled away.

"Uh, yeah, yeah," Hyde nodded awkwardly, stole a quick glance towards the big mahogany box at the front of the room, and then back at Eric. "Yeah, but you know, uh later, later."

Eric nodded and gave one more pat to Hyde's shoulder before he and Donna slid into the pew and took their seats. Since Eric wanted to make sure he was seated next his mom during the ceremony, Donna took her seat first, giving Hyde a small smile when she sat beside him. Hyde nodded but that was all Jackie saw him do before he lowered his gaze to his hands.

There had been something off about the way he had responded to Eric's question and Jackie wasn't the only one who had noticed.

"He's not gonna go up," Red watched his adopted son carefully, never noticing that he himself was being watched carefully. Or if he did notice, he wasn't paying the person's stare any attention. "Why doesn't he wanna go up there?"

As soon as the figure of Red turned away from Hyde, it's gaze landed on Jackie only to have Jackie immediately look away.

She looked around the room, up at the wooden ceiling and down to the tacky shag carpet. Jackie didn't want this thing to know she had been looking at it, nor did she want to explain how Steven had been the one to find and try to help Mr. Forman at the scene of the accident and the trauma from that was probably part of the reason he was keeping his distance now. If this was really her subconscious forming this vision of Mr. Forman then it should know this, there was no need to say it out loud and look like a crazy person talking to herself.

If Jackie had been looking in Red's direction, she would have seen him rolling his eyes clearly irritated at being ignored.

"Look, you can pretend to ignore me all you want but I know you can hear me and I sure as hell know you can see me," His booming angry tone nearly made Jackie turn towards him. "But why can't anyone else?"

Jackie swung her head in his direction and hissed out the whispered words, "Because you're dead."

Red's face dropped into a frown and he glared angrily in Jackie direction, however by the time she looked back he was gone. Just like last night, when she had pointed out quite bluntly that he was dead, the vision of Red had vanished. It was like she needed to remind this mirage, no, remind herself, that Red really was gone and couldn't come back in order to get rid of this weird ghost thing. Jackie needed to make sure she kept this detail in mind.

"Hey," though Hyde's voice was soft, it startled a shake out of her. His brow creased with concern, "You okay?"

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Jackie tried to make her shaking head look like it had been nodding all along. "Um, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I just, I think I'm gonna go pay my respects now." Jackie explained, her hand gently touched his knee.

She was aware of the fact that she couldn't come right out and ask Steven if he would want to go up there with her, he would only turn down the offer and say he'd go later on his own—the same way he answered Eric's question. However, she hoped that her grazing of his knee would let him know it was okay for him to join her, after all they used to be able to convey so much to each other with even the lightest of touches, back when they had been dating.

Hyde just nodded his head, his lack of any other kind of movement telling Jackie that he wouldn't be joining her. It might have been unclear whether he had understood what she wanted her touch to say to him, but Jackie could still read him like he was one of her favorite Nancy Drew books.

"I'll be right back," she whispered, pulling herself onto her feet.

By the time it was Jackie's turn to step up to the casket, there was no one else standing behind or even around her. Jackie couldn't decide whether this meant she had picked the best or the worst time to come pay her respects. On one hand it meant that there was no one rushing her to move it along but the reason no one would be rushing her was because no one was standing up with her, they were all sitting down, watching her.

With a deep breath, Jackie imagined pulling on her cloak of Zen just before she took those last few steps that closed up the gap between herself and the open casket.

This was far from her first funeral, so what Jackie found inside the coffin really shouldn't have come as a surprise to her. Still, when she saw what was inside the wooden box she couldn't stop the small gasp that escaped her lips. Her right hand tried to muffle the sound by covering her mouth but the sound had already escaped and must have been heard by at least a handful of people.

Jackie didn't dare to look behind her at the guests, even if she wanted to, she found herself unable to tear her eyes away from what was inside the coffin, from who was inside there.

It was Mr. Forman, or at least remains that looked very similar to him. Same balding head and wrinkles, he wasn't scowling as much as Jackie remembered and that was enough to give anyone an eerie feeling. As much as Jackie hated to admit it, she felt more comfortable being around the image of Mr. Forman that her mind had conjured up than she did looking at what was laid out in front of her. Those illusions she saw of Red sitting beside her looked more lifelike than the remains that people had come to bid farewell to.

This body that was lying inside the casket looked more like a waxy mold someone had made of Red Forman and not the man himself…Suddenly Jackie's imagination picked up a thought that sent it into overdrive.

What if Mr. Forman wasn't really dead? What if he was in trouble with the mob and this was a fake funeral with a fake waxy body put in his place? Or maybe it was some elaborate prank that the guys were trying to pull on her, using projectors and other gizmos to give Mr. Forman a ghostly effect. Maybe the coroner had gotten it wrong and Mr. Forman hadn't really died in the accident, maybe he was actually in a kind of coma and his spirit was visiting Jackie trying to tell her that he was still alive.

The last one might have sounded crazy but it was also the one Jackie most hoped would be true, if only because it would mean he was still alive.

Not caring if anyone or no one saw her, Jackie reached into the casket and grabbed the body's wrist, holding her breath as she prayed for the sensation of a pulse to occur beneath her fingertips.

Moments passed but it never came. There was no pulse felt, instead what Jackie felt was the softness of skin, debunking her theory of the Red Forman wax figure. There was no point in denying it, this was really Red. He was really gone.

As her heart ached and her eyes filled with tears, Jackie made her way back to her seat. She had known Mr. Forman was dead for the past few days, she'd helped planned his funeral but having seen that image of him the night before had created a tiny bout of hope that maybe this had all been some horrible mistake. Seeing the lifeless body though, told the real story, Mr. Forman was dead, they'd never see him again, they'd never get to tell him goodbye or tell him how much he meant to them.

That last thought upset Jackie so much so that she _almost_ felt excited when Red's figure reappeared in the spot next to her.

She had to refrain herself from laughing happily because unlike his waxy looking corpse, this illusion of Red had on the deep sunken Red Forman scowl. Jackie had never been so happy to see such an upset looking frown.

"You better tell those two dumbasses to get out there and help Kitty," he told her but was looking ahead and not in Jackie's direction; perhaps still upset at being reminded that he was dead. "Before I haunt the inside of all your asses with my foot."

Jackie's shoulders slumped and her smile flattened. That was the same foot in the ass comment Steven had made moments ago, had her subconscious hung onto and now made it seem like Red had really said these words? And why did Kitty need help? Looking behind her, Jackie could see an ocean of faces but none of them belonged to Kitty.

"Wh…" Jackie stopped herself from asking anything and making herself look like a crazy person having a one-sided conversation. Yet, she couldn't ignore the statement; something in her gut told her to listen to this message that her brain must have been sending to her through this hallucination of her deceased father figure. "Steven, maybe you and Eric should go help Paula."

Puzzled, Hyde looked at her. "Huh?"

"Well, I just mean…" before Jackie could finish her thought a heartrending sobbing sound cut through the somber, hushed atmosphere.

Everyone, Jackie and Hyde included, turned their heads in the direction of the back of the room where the cry had come from. It didn't take long for them to spot Kitty and her sister standing in the doorway. Kitty was the one who was weeping, loudly and openly, and stepping into the funeral room where several pairs of eyes were now staring at her, making her sob even harder.

Paula had one arm over her older sister's shoulder while Kitty held onto her other arm, she was trying to help her down to the front of the room but just taking a few steps into the building had been quite the struggle. The darker haired sister tried to give the audience an assuring smile but her nervous eyes were searching for the familiar faces of her sister's kids who could come help her out.

Hyde wasted no time. "Forman, man, let's go."

Eric who had been whispering with Donna, was initially confused until he looked where Hyde was headed and saw his aunt and heartbroken mother trying to enter the room. In the next instant, Eric was up on his feet, catching up to Hyde.

Jackie watched Eric and Hyde reach Mrs. Forman and relieve Paula from the difficult task. Though she was several feet away, Jackie could tell the older woman was grateful for the help of her boys, each one of her hands gripped tightly onto one of their arms. They were like her crutches, helping her make her way down the aisle; she hobbled a bit but neither Hyde nor Eric would let her fall.

As heartwarming as it was to see the two young men helping their mother, especially since it was more common to see her helping others, it was still a tear-jerking moment to witness and Jackie had to turn away. When she did, she found herself focusing on the Red figure seated next to her. He looked upset but not in the 'I'll stick my foot in your ass' kind of anger but more in the way of being upset that he wasn't able to do anything except sit there and watch. Which he did; and as he watched his mourning family make their way down the aisle, Jackie watched him.

The longer she watched him, the more she began to wonder about all of this…

What exactly was _this_? Any of this? Was it really all her overactive imagination and tired brain creating these images and conversations for her? But if it was her subconscious behind all of it, how did it know Paula was struggling to help Mrs. Forman into the building if she hadn't seen them since she and Steven had entered the funeral home?

Maybe this wasn't something her mind was making up…but did that mean Mr. Forman was still here? His ghost…his spirit was still here on Earth with them? If this possibility was crazy enough to be true, why was she the only one who could see him?

She had so many questions she needed answers to and there was only one source Jackie could think of that might hold some possible answers. Jackie was even willing to look like she was talking to herself, if it meant she would resolve at least half of her questions, unfortunately by the time she prepared herself to ask these big questions, Red's presence had vanished—leaving Jackie confused and with even more questions than before.

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 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yya? Nay? A ittle bit of both? Be sure to let me know what you think in a review!_

 _Next chapter will pick up from this chapter, we'll see more of the funeral for Red, learn more about Laurie and maybe find a few clues that could help explain what Jackie is going through and why._

 _Hope you all like the chapter and it was sort of worth the wait, I am really hoping I won't take this long to update again. I really did miss updating it. And speaking of updating, would any of you be interested in me updating my old Thanksgiving story 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'? I know it's been a while since that one was updated but I'm wondering if readers would still be interested in it if I did attempt to update it again this year._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	24. Chapter 23: SOS

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone, how are you? Hope you're doing well! I've finally back with some new chapters for this fic! I am so sorry that it took so long to update but things got busy in real life and then things in the fandom had been pretty slow, last chapter didn't do so well so I wasn't in a rush to update like before. I'm hoping that there's still an audience for the story tho, I know there's a few new readers and I've spotted a few old ones around too, whether you've reviewed every chapter or haven't reviewed one at all it would really mean a lot if you took the time to comment this chapter and let me know you're still interested in reading this story. Do plan on continuing it but think the updates frequency will depend a little bit on whether there' readers or not. Thank you all for stopping by to read and for hanging on for this long, I'm very sorry it wasn't updated sooner. Hopefully the next chapter will be posted much sooner! Thanks again for stopping by to read, please review if you can, hope you like, and as always please, Enjoy!_

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Watching Mrs. Forman make her way into the room where her husband's funeral services were being held, with a son on each of her arms, had to be the saddest scene Jackie had ever seen. It stole the title away from a moment she'd previously held in high regards to, the moment in _Bambi_ where Little Bambi was left all alone in the forest feeling confused and scared after the hunter had taken his mother away from him. Jackie had been around seven when she first saw the movie, but it had affected her so deeply that as she grew older just thinking about the movie moment made her heart ache.

Of course, as time went by, especially in more recent times, Jackie learned that life wasn't a happily ever after Disney film. And even the saddest Disney moments could seem less bleak compared to real life tragedies.

Eric stood on Kitty's left while Hyde was at her right. She tried her best to stay strong and walk with her head held up high but would soon deteriorate into a puddle of tears the moment she caught sight of the wooden coffin at the other end of the room. It was a good thing Hyde and Eric were with Kitty, she'd almost lost her balance at least twice.

The boys directed her towards her seat in the pews, but Kitty had insisted on going up to see Red and say her goodbyes.

Jackie kept a watchful eye on the trio, most especially Steven. He had not wanted to go up to see Red with her nor did he want to go by himself, he didn't want to go at all and was doing his best to avoid it. Not that Jackie blamed him, she was sure he had his reasons; one being that he never liked goodbyes. Despite sensing Hyde's attempt of avoidance, and his dislike for goodbyes, Jackie wasn't the least bit surprised when she saw him carefully help Eric walk Kitty up the rest of the way.

Kitty had done so much to help Steven over the years, Jackie knew Hyde was going to do all that he could to help her through these difficult days.

Once they made it up to the altar and the coffin, Kitty knelt beside it and began to pray. Her sons remained next to her, Eric with his head bowed and watching his mother touch his father's hand for the last time; while Hyde held his head up allowing his gaze to travel anywhere but towards the pair he'd adopted as his parents years ago.

To Jackie it was painfully obvious that Steven was trying not to catch any sort of glimpse at the inside of the casket; though others probably didn't notice it as much as she did and that was why she remained seated instead of going up there to offer her aide.

So she simply sat there in the crowd watching the scene unfold at the front of the room. The moment Kitty leaned into the casket to place a soft kiss on the forehead of Red's remains, Jackie craned her neck a bit to try to get a better look at the private moment. As she stretched her neck to the left and then the right, Jackie found herself hoping that maybe with some help from the magic of a true love's kiss, this heartbreaking, world flipping spell would be broken and Red would be alive again.

It seemed there would always be a part of her that believed in the Magical World of Disney.

Of course, there wasn't enough magic to bring Mr. Forman back to them. With her kiss having been placed and her goodbyes having been said, Mrs. Forman allowed her sons to help her take her seat in the front pew where Donna and Jackie had remained sitting.

By the time the family of three had settled into their seats, Jackie would have been willing to bet that there wasn't a pair of dry eyes in the entire gathering…only she didn't make that bet because she knew there were in fact a pair eyes that weren't brimming with tears.

They were her own set of big brown eyes that held no traces of tears inside them and instead stared gapingly in the direction of where Mrs. Forman sat, because unknown to Mrs. Forman and as it seemed the rest of the guests, standing right behind Kitty was her supposedly dead husband who they had all come to pay their respects to.

Jackie stared at this returned image of Red. This may not have been the first time she'd seen it, but it still freaked her out as much at it had then. It wasn't fair that he kept disappearing and then reappearing at any given moment, she was sure it was going to induce some sort of panic attack on her. Then again Jackie wasn't so sure she would be able to deal with having this Ghost of Mr. Forman around her twenty-four seven either.

Her eyes squeezed shut and Jackie rapidly shook her head. Ghost's weren't really real. She could still partially believe in fairy tale magic, but she did not believe in ghosts. This had to be some sort of delusion created by her subconscious that was clearly missing Mr. Forman very much, Jackie was sure of it…but then, how would her subconscious know that Mrs. Forman had needed Steven and Eric's help?

Though she had known the funeral was hitting Mrs. Forman pretty hard it had been mere seconds after the Red Forman mirage had told her to get the boys up to help Kitty, that the woman had appeared in the doorway in a weeping mess. That wasn't something Jackie could have sensed on her own, it wasn't something she had heard or seen either.

Swallowing hard, Jackie stared at the image of Red before her. He…it…he was staring straight ahead, at the front of the room where the casket and flowers laid, but his hands rested on each of Mrs. Forman's shoulders.

If this was a ghost wouldn't Mrs. Forman feel him touching her? Wouldn't someone around her sense the sudden cold air near them? Those were the kind of things Jackie had heard people say about ghosts…or was that spirits? Was there even a difference between a spirit and a ghost?

That was something Jackie didn't know, however, what she did know was that ghosts and spirits were associated with people who were dead. Occasionally you'd hear about someone feeling the presence of a ghost or spirit, but Jackie wasn't feeling any damn presence, she was seeing it! And the worst part was it looked like she was the only one who did.

At that very moment this illusion of Mr. Forman turned his head and looked straight at Jackie; as if he'd heard every one of her thoughts—which freaked Jackie out almost as much as the idea of suddenly being able to see dead people.

Not knowing what else to do, Jackie immediately broke the eye contact and looked away. She turned her attention to the front end of the room, like everyone else. And like everyone else, acted as though she had never spotted any spiritual ghost thing in the room.

"Alright, kid, it's pointless to try to deny it now," the familiar gruff voice sounded much louder now that it was seated right beside her, in a seat that should have been empty. "I saw you looking over at me even when I wasn't talking to you. I know you can see me."

"Go away, please," Jackie's whisper trembled as she closed her eyes again.

"Hey," a gentle voice called out to her. Jackie blinked her eyes open to find Steven's concerned, if not slightly confused, face staring back at her. "Who you tellin' to go away?"

Jackie hadn't a clue of what to say. She didn't want to lie to Steven, but she also couldn't tell him the truth, after all, she herself wasn't sure of what that truth really was. Then to make matters even worse, Jackie knew—even without turning to look in the direction—that it, that he, was still there. She now had a better understanding of the whole 'feeling a presence' thing and it wasn't a sensation she was very fond of.

Nor was it one that she wanted to experience for very much longer. Keeping her sight on Steven, Jackie tried to regain her composure.

"Uh this fly. It keeps buzzing around me," she said then began to swat at the imaginary fly for good measure. "And it just won't _go away_."

Without making it too obvious, Jackie tried to stress the last two words, hoping that the hallucination of Mr. Forman's spirit would take the hint and leave. It appeared as if the message were heard but the only response she received was a skywards look followed by annoyed eyeroll in a very true to Red Forman form.

"Don't worry Jackie," Kelso's voice pulled Jackie's mind back to where it should have been. "I'll take care of that fly. Good thing we got some free flyswatters here."

Kelso rolled the funeral program into a tube and then proceeded to stand up and search for the pesky, nonexistent, pest holding the rolled-up pamphlet up and over his shoulder like a baseball hitter getting ready to use a very miniature bat. The makeshift bat swiftly caught Brooke's eyes causing them to grow wide with shock.

"No, Michael," Brooke warned, her hand reaching up to garb onto his shoulder so that she could pull him back down to his seat beside her.

A slight pout on his lips, Kelso dropped his bottom back into his seat, though he did continue to scan the area for any flying bugs. Luckily, Hyde didn't seem to give the mention of there being a fly in the room much thought as Jackie watched him hang his head and stare down at his intertwined fingers.

"Where is she?" the booming voice that sounded very much like Mr. Forman's voice demanded to know.

More accustomed to answering the man rather than ignoring him, it felt like second nature to Jackie to respond to the question.

"Who?" she asked, immediately regretting opening her mouth when she caught Hyde staring strangely at her. Thinking quickly, Jackie cupped her nose and mouth with her hand. She hoped she looked like she had just sneezed, "Excuse me."

Hyde shook his head and turned his head away making Jackie's heart drop. She hoped he had bought her sneeze and wasn't actually taking down a mental note to get her checked into the nearest looney bin.

"Laurie," Red's voice tugged at her attention. "She hasn't come in yet. Where is she?"

"She didn't come," replied Jackie.

The brunette wanted to kick herself for voicing the answer to that question. Why was she answering these questions out loud where everyone else could hear her? Was it really because she was so used to answering Mr. Forman whenever he asked a question or was he using some kind of ghostly supernatural powers on her?

"Who didn't come?" Hyde asked, thinking she was talking to him.

"Um," she struggled a bit before deciding on a response, "Laurie."

It wasn't a lie. That was who she was talking about and the truth was Laurie had so far been a no show to the funeral. Jackie wasn't sure if she was coming, or even if there had been any contact made with the boyfriend stealing blonde; but thought this might be a good way to get some answers for herself and the Red Forman that was currently occupying her imagination.

"Oh yeah," a scoff left Hyde's lips. "Big surprise there huh?"

Jackie tried not to make it look too obvious but from the right corner of her eye she could make out the well-known deep angry scowl of Red Forman. "You mean Michael couldn't locate her through the address on the letter?"

"Turns out the address was for some bar she must've been working at…" Hyde began to explain.

"As a waitress," Jackie added in when she saw how upset this image of Red was looking; but looking back at Steven, she saw how puzzled her outburst had made him. "You mean where she worked at as a waitress, right?"

"Yeah, I guess best case scenario she was a waitress," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Whatever she was doin' there, she's not doin' anymore. Said they haven't seen her in over three weeks. Even had one of Red's letters to forward to her but they don't know where she's at now."

All of the anger Jackie had seen in Red's form, faded away into look of disappointment and sadness. It was a look that Jackie had never seen on Mr. Forman before. Whether it really was his ghost or her own imagination, the fact that Laurie had not been able to attend her own father's funeral, to have that chance to say goodbye to him, was very sad.

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly.

"Hey, it's cool," came Hyde's reply; obviously still thinking Jackie was talking to him. "Don't think any of us were betting or even hoping she'd make it over here. Just you know, would've been nice for Mrs. Forman," he pointed his chin in the older woman's direction before taking a small pause. "For Red."

Jackie merely nodded her head in agreement. She wanted to say more but kept her lips together when she spotted Pastor Dave approaching the altar. The services were about to start, and Jackie knew it would not be the best time to talk any more about Laurie or anything else for that matter. A part of her even hoped that with the funeral services beginning it might send away this vivid image of Mr. Forman that sat beside her.

"Good morning friends, family, everyone," Pastor Dave greeted once he reached the podium. His voice still sounded like it could belong to a cartoon character, but today it sounded a little less cheery. "Today we are gathered here not to say a sorrowful goodbye but rather to celebrate the wonderful life of a wonderful man, Red Forman."

"Oh jeeze," an annoyed groan was heard coming from Jackie's right.

However, Jackie chose to ignore the griping and listen to Pastor Dave's words instead. She hadn't forgotten that Red and the pastor had been friends, or at least sport watching buddies, and she couldn't help wondering if he would have anything special to say about that.

Pastor Dave took in a deep breath, perhaps keeping his emotions in check as he continued to speak. "Red was a proud veteran of these United States. He was a passionate Packers fan but also greatly enjoyed watching the games of the Brewers and Bucks. He was a loving husband, a good father, and I can say from personal experience, a really good friend."

At that moment Pastor Dave paused to collect to himself, bowing his head and sniffling once, which was more than poor Bob was able to do.

"Aw jeeze, he really was!" he'd bawled loudly before burying his nose into his handkerchief.

Softly Pastor Dave nodded his head, "I think we can agree that Red, overall was a really groovy kind of dude."

Kelso would have erupted with laughter if Brooked hadn't shoved her elbow into his ribs. Jackie herself had to cover her mouth in order to hide her laughter and as she did so, she noticed the right corner of Hyde's lips had tugged upwards. Poor Pastor Dave was still trying to be cool and keep up with the times but he'd somehow gotten stuck in the '70s; at least it brought some amusement to them.

Well, most of them. Without having to look Jackie could already sense she wouldn't find a smiling face at the end of the pew.

"To start this celebration, let us welcome Red's younger brother Marty, who would like to read a poem that he wrote for this very occasion."

Stepping down from the podium, Pastor Dave started off one of the most awkward round of applause. He was taking this 'celebration' thing to heart, which in a way was nice but who had ever heard of clapping at a funeral? Only a few joined in but not without exchanging confused looks with everyone else in the room.

The lack of applause didn't matter to Marty though, he stood up from his front pew at the right side of the room, and with a small square shaped piece of yellow paper clutched in his fingers he made his way to the wooden plinth.

"Crap. You've gotta keep him from getting up on that stage," Jackie could hear Red's voice telling her. "He'll end up getting one word out and then burst into tears. All these damn flowers will've dried up by the time he finally does."

Jackie decided not to react to the comments this time. Besides Marty seemed to be doing okay, a bit emotional sure but he'd just lost his sibling. The short poem he brought up suddenly became a lot longer when he unfolded the yellow square to reveal a yellow sheet of paper that looked to have been ripped off a yellow legal pad with writing on both sides.

Maybe an interruption wouldn't be the worst idea.

"Ehem," Marty cleared his throat and then did it again; his grip tightening on the edges of the podium as he drew in a shaky breath. "Brother…" his voice cracked like a deep crack in a levee that sent the whole thing crumbling down while a waterfall of tears came gushing out.

"What did I tell you?"

She looked towards where she had last seen Mr. Forman and saw him watching the predicted scene unfold while shaking his head back and forth. He was right, he had told her. He knew what would happen but there had been no way _for_ _her_ to have known Marty would break down like this to blame it on her subconscious. Jackie didn't know the man well enough. Not like his brother would.

It could have been a lucky guess, maybe that's how she'd known Kitty had needed help too; however two lucky guesses one right after another was indubitably lucky.

Maybe she had been looking at this all wrong. Maybe this wasn't about her seeing Mr. Forman's ghost, maybe it was about her being able to see the future! And this image of Mr. Forman was just there to help her with her visions. Being able to see into the future sounded a lot cooler than being able to see dead people.

But then again why would the picture of a man who'd just died be something that would help see things he would never be part of? Also, there was the technicality that she hadn't actually ever seen anything, she was just going off what had been said to her by Mr. Forman…by his spirit ghost thing. Maybe he was the one who could see the future now that he was dead and she could now see his ghost…but why her?

All of these thoughts had her head feeling dizzy. Glancing around the room everything felt off balance and unsteady, she literally felt like her world was spinning out of control but soon her eyes fell on her fixed point.

"Steven," she griped his arm as if it would help keep her mind steady, "Steven."

"Yeah?" Hyde's unshaded eyes revealed his surprise.

" _Please don't think I'm crazy,"_ Jackie begged him inside her head, swallowing those words and preparing the next. "Do you see Mr. Forman?"

Hyde lowered his gaze again and shifted in his seat., "Yeah."

"Oh my God, you do?" a mix of shock and relief filled Jackie as she suddenly recalled the talk she'd had with Steven that morning in the kitchen about how they'd both had weird dreams the night before about Mr. Forman. Of course, she now knew hers had not been a dream but maybe Steven's hadn't either, maybe he could see Mr. Forman too—she wasn't alone in this! Jackie was so happy that for the first time in years she felt like she could have kissed Steven Hyde.

"Jackie, man, he's pretty hard to miss," continued Hyde. "He's up there, center stage and all."

Brow furrowing slightly, Jackie looked behind her, Mr. Forman's spirit ghost thingy was still sitting next to her, he wasn't at the center of the room. Jackie turned her attention over to the front of the room and her heart dropped when she saw the open casket at the center of the altar.

It wasn't the ghost of Mr. Forman that Steven saw, it was the wax like replica of him that rested in that wooden box.

She was the only one who was seeing Mr. Forman's spirit. Like Bambi, she was alone; confused, scared and most of all alone.

"Hey, you okay?" Hyde asked, using that soft voice of concern that stung Jackie's eyes.

"No…I…I don't know," Jackie spoke truthfully, looking into his baby blue eyes before shaking her head. "I think I need to get some fresh air," she gathered her purse. "These floral arrangements smell like old lady perfume."

"You want me to go with you?"

For a moment, Jackie considered taking him up on his offer but ultimately realized that he should stay with Eric and Mrs. Forman. It wasn't as if she'd be able to explain to him what was going on with her, she wasn't even sure that she fully understood any of it.

"No, no, I'll be right back. I'll be okay," she stood up and then as she began to walk out of the pew she added in a firm whisper, "I need to be alone."

Reaching the back of the room, Jackie hoped her last message had been received by the correct recipient. She turned around and sure enough he was still sitting in the front pew. Jackie wondered what Steven would do if he knew that just a few inches away from him sat his deceased adopted father. He probably wouldn't believe it, she was seeing it with her own eyes and still couldn't believe it.

Shaking her head, Jackie felt her chest becoming more constraint. "I need to get out of here."

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 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little of both? Still interesting in reading this fic? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Hope you enjoyed the chapter and that it was at least semi-worth the wait. There's more to come and I'm hoping readers are still here and excited for more of the story I sure am!_

 _Next chapter we'll find out where Jackie went and see if Red's 'spirit ghost thing' followed her. Maybe even get some clues as to why he's there in the first place._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	25. Chapter 24: Wild World

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello all, how are you? Hope you're doing well! Been a little while since my last update but lucky not as long as the time before, I'm getting better! And summer is just about here so I'm hoping to get a lot done for this story! Hope you are as excited as I am. This week does mark the two year anniversary of when this fic started, can you believe it? Just wanna thank some of the readers who have been here from the start of it you all know who you are, thank you! And Thank you to all my new readers as well because not all of the readers from the start have stuck around but getting reviews from new readers lets me know that people are still discovering and enjoying this story. Thank you! Thank you so much again for reading, hope you like, please review if you can, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

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"You okay?"

The voice made her shoulders grow tense more than the cold water she'd splashed on her face. It didn't matter that the voice was as familiar as a route that lead back home, it was still a voice that shouldn't be able to be heard anymore, by anyone, but especially her. It didn't make sense.

Removing her hands from where she held them cupped over her face, Jackie raised her head and looked into the mirror above the small mirror above bathroom sink. She ignored the vision of herself, but the water droplets could be felt rolling down her cheeks; instead, Jackie focused on what stood behind her, an apparition that reminded her that it wasn't only a unwanted voice she was hearing.

As Jackie stared at Red's image in the mirror, her eyes scrunched up and her brows drew closer together. If he had a reflection maybe he wasn't really a ghost, she'd never heard of a ghost having any kind of reflection unless you were in the dark with a lit candle and said their names three times… and while some moments from the past few days were blur for her, Jackie was certain she hadn't done anything like that. With the evidence of the reflection, Jackie could at least scratch out the possibility of this Mr. Forman shaped thing being a vampire.

"Couldn't you knock?" Jackie demanded to know. Ghost, vampire, whatever this thing that looked like Mr. Forman was, it should at least have some manners, Jackie thought to herself before turning on her heel. Her glare looked less pointed and more perplexed. "I mean, _could you knock_?"

He stared back at her silently for few moments before clearing his throat and shifting his gaze elsewhere—just like Mr. Forman used to do. "Put it to you this way, I just spent the last five minutes trying to get that damn door to open and couldn't even manage that."

"Oh," her head hung down until she realized she had nothing to feel guilty about and the bottom of her chin jutted out in front of her. "Are you a ghost?"

"I don't believe in ghosts," Red's lookalike replied without missing a beat.

"Maybe you don't have to believe in ghosts in order to become one," Jackie mused aloud with a shrug of her shoulders; however, Red's image appeared unpersuaded and unamused by her comment. It was something she decided not to comment on. "You shouldn't be in here, this is the ladies room."

"Jackie, based on what I saw out there, I shouldn't be here _period_ but, somehow I am." The figure stepped closer towards her, chin jutted out and ahead, as his eyes tried to read the expressions on Jackie's face. In a matter of seconds, she'd gone from look strong-willed and snarky to uneasy and afraid. "And for some reason, you're the only one who can see me."

She shook her head. "You don't know that. There are a lot of people out there, much more than I thought there'd be," Jackie slipped in but soon caught her mistake when she saw a glare being sent her way, but she didn't let that scare her. "You should go out there and make sure no one else can see you. Don't let me stop you. Mix and mingle, go!"

For a brief moment, Jackie prepared to shove this image of Mr. Forman towards the door. Her open palms were stretched out in front of her and in his direction but just before she touched him, she stopped herself.

What would happen if she made physical contact with this ghost thing?

Jackie decided this was a question she did not want to find out the answer to. So, instead of pushing Mr. Forman's spirit out of the picture she tried to wave him off by flapping her hands about in the air. While doing so, Jackie was thankful that there was no one else around or she'd have to tell them she was trying to shoo away a whole swarm of flies.

Mr. Forman's ghost didn't appear to appreciate being treated like some household pest. "I've already checked, you're the only one who can see me," his shared information got Jackie stop fluttering her arms before allowing them to drop heavily at her sides. The sound of Red's voice grew gruffer as he continued. "Besides half the people here I haven't seen in over twenty years. Hell, I hardly remember some of them, they shouldn't be here."

"They came to pay their respects," Jackie replied. It was getting harder to believe that she was having these conversations with herself, so Jackie did less ignoring and more talking…only she still wasn't certain who or what it was she was talking to. "To say their goodbyes and be a part of this celebration of your life."

"Celebration of my life," he repeated with in irritated eye roll. "What dumbass came up with that idea?"

The question made Jackie's spine stiffen into an upright, tall position. This funeral may have been in his honor, but she was not going to let him mock her idea; not when she had put so much thought and effort into this _and_ gotten such great compliments and praise for new aged theme. "Some people think it's a nice, more uplifting, alternative to the usual dreary funerals, I'll have you know."

Not waiting for any kind of response, Jackie made her way past the vision of Mr. Forman and stormed out of the bathroom without another thought. It wasn't the kind of thing she would have ever done with the real Mr. Forman but walking out on this mirage of him that may or not really be there proved to be a much easier task.

As Jackie made her way back into the service, she noticed that she felt much more like herself than she had when she'd fled from the room moments before. She felt more confident and less paranoid; she was in charge of what happened in her life not some creepy wannabe ghost.

"It was you," the wannabe ghost said as it appeared in front of Jackie just as a man in a nearby row of seats sneezed, making it look like it had been the cause for Jackie's sudden and very evident jolt.

Her eyes slipped closed and she clenched her fists at her side as she hissed, "Don't do that."

"Sorry," the sneezing man turned his head to apologize. "It's allergy season for me."

Jackie stared back at this old man like he was speaking to her in whole other language. She didn't know why he was talking to her and what's more she didn't know who the man was! Of course, Jackie figured it was safe to assume he was a friend of Mr. Forman since he was here at his funeral service and he did have a receding hairline similar to Mr. Forman's.

Maybe he was part of Mr. Forman's Hair Club for Men group…

With a shake of her head, Jackie didn't give the man another thought and instead headed towards one of the back, empty pews. She sat herself down with a heavy sigh. Sitting alone in the back of the room was sure to create a bound of questions, but they'd be much easier to answer than questions that were sure to come about when she was spotted in the front row looking like she was having a conversation with herself.

"It was you," Now that Jackie had been expecting him this time, she didn't even blink when his form materialized next to her. He eyed her closely while she looked on up ahead. "You're the dumbass who came up with this damn celebration of my life, aren't you?"

"Maybe" she curtly answered; unsure of what had her defenses so high—her ideas being criticized or that she was seemingly talking to a ghost. "And maybe I did it because funerals are for the living, not you, _the_ _dead_."

Unable to help herself, Jackie took a peak to her left. Every other time she had stated the fact that Mr. Forman was dead, his image would instantly disappear, yet she'd said the words once more and he was still sitting there beside her. He wasn't looking at her though and when Jackie followed his line of sight she saw that he was looking at those in the front pews, his family.

"Guess, it does seem to have helped Kitty out a little more." Even in his death, Red seemed to prioritize Kitty's wellbeing. There was a faint sigh before he continued. "I guess it's just not the kind of funeral I imagined for myself."

"What did you imagine?" curiously Jackie asked; she'd heard of imagining your wedding but never a funeral.

Shoulders shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, at one point, a funeral that only Kitty attended."

"That's depressing."

"It's a hell of a lot better than the alternative."

Her brows furrowed slightly as she wondered, "What was the alternative?"

"Well, pretty much this," there was a scoff, perhaps at the irony of it all.

Jackie's creased brows sunk deeper and closer together creating a full-on scowl onto her forehead. Her mouth opened and she was about to give a piece of her mind to this overly picky hallucination—that was being much too particular to be the real Red Forman—when he continued to speak aloud.

"And then there was the time when I was in the Navy…" for a second his voice drifted into a brief silence. "When you're in out there in the burning shores of battle, you live each day knowing that you might not make it to see the next. And sometimes you started to plan for the worst. Some guys wrote out all the details, down to the suit they wanted to go out in," he explained. "I just wanted to have the traditional burial at sea. But knowing my family might've wanted some kind of closure I was willing to have my body shipped back home for a service and get cremated. Then I wanted my ashes to be scattered out at sea."

"The place where you could've been killed," Jackie quipped in an almost questioning tone.

"That time I spent out there on the open sea made me the man I am," Red's formed answered, paying more attention to Jackie's words than her tone. There was a pause as he realized his own words and he cleared his throat as he pushed through the awkwardness. "I mean, the man I was."

Watching this vision of Mr. Forman in such a somber state partly made Jackie wish she knew what to do. But she didn't even know what exactly what was going on. And most certainly wasn't used to see Mr. Forman in such a serious and saddened manner, it was almost as unsettling as believing that it really was his ghost sitting next to her.

"And as hard as it was being out there sometimes, I really enjoyed it," he continued.

Jackie noted how much more this form of Red shared than the Red she'd known when he was alive.

"It could be calming and as exciting as a new adventure all at once," He was grinning like he was back on the bow of his naval ship before it slowly began to lessen in size. "Wanted to take Kitty out there for one more adventure one day but, looks like that's another dream gone into the crapper."

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Forman," Jackie's apology was earnest and sincere. She really did feel terrible that he wouldn't be able to take Mrs. Forman for one last trip to the ocean, she felt horrible that he was gone period, but what she felt the most guilt over was not giving him the funeral he'd want—or even taking into consideration that he'd had any funeral preferences in mind. "We had no idea you had any requests for your funeral. I wish you would've told someone or written it down."

Red stared straight ahead, "I did."

"You did?" her brows furrowed as she followed his gaze down to the front of the room where his brother Marty was blubbering his way through the last stanza of his poem. She silently prayed the funeral information hadn't been entrusted to Mr. Forman's younger sibling.

"Must've been with my old war stuff."

"Oh," Jackie said in a happy relief which soon went down a soft whisper, "Oh."

No one had thought to look through his old war things. She had no idea where they were kept and though Jackie was sure Mrs. Forman probably knew the items' location she never would have thought to ask her. They'd had a hard-enough time going through his bedside table when looking for the postcard with Laurie's previous address.

Jackie stared at this vision of Red that continued to watch the events unfolding at the front of the room. His face grimaced with irritation, he looked like he really did not want to be there—he looked more like the Red Forman Jackie knew, which made her next words come out with more ease.

"I'm sorry it's not the funeral you wanted," she apologized once more, "but there's not much we can do now. I mean it's not like I can put a stop to the funeral."

His eyebrows rose at these words and he turned to look at Jackie, a smirk slowly creeping onto his lips. "Now there's an idea!"

"What?" she was sure that she had missed something somewhere.

"You can stop the funeral," he was grinning like he'd announced some ingenious plan.

"What?" Jackie screeched, her eyes doubling in size and her head rapidly shook her head. "No. I can't. No. I said I can't put a stop to the funeral, as is I _can_ _not_."

"Sure, you can," Red's voice sounded as if it would all be a piece of cake. "You can call off this whole damn party of my life crap and reorganize it into the funeral that's more fitting for me."

Jackie glared sharply in the figure's direction. "It's not a party, it's a celebration of your life. Not a party," she attempted to stress again. "And it's not crap. Some people actually think it's a good idea celebrating your life like this."

Red gave her a deadpan look. "I didn't wanna celebrate my life when I was alive, what makes you think I wanna celebrate it now that I'm dead?"

"It's not for you," she reminded in a strict whispered tone that caught the attention of a woman sitting in the pew in front of them. Jackie snarled back at the woman when their eyes met. "It's not for you either!"

She then spun her finger around like she was stirring a cup of coffee, signaling for the nosy woman to turn back around. The woman followed the silent order but not before giving Jackie a very strange look that was not lost on the brunette.

"You're making me look like a crazy person in front of all these people," Jackie was now keeping her voice down to a harsh whisper.

He shook his head, whether he was annoyed by her words or the way they were whispered was uncertain, maybe it was a bit of both. "Who cares what these dumbasses think? Half of them shouldn't even be here."

"They're paying their respects," reminded Jackie, she felt like they'd had this conversation before and briefly wondered if this meant this vision of Red was all in her head.

"Paying their respects," he seemed to scoff at the idea. "They're trying to get out of paying for a meal by heading over to the house for the reception after. Damn freeloaders."

With a roll of her eyes, Jackie shook the idea from her head. The comment sounded way too much like Red Forman to have come from her imagination.

"Look, there was a time when I thought I wanted lots of people to attend my funeral, I thought it would mean that my life meant something," Red continued to share, a far-off kind of look on his face that looked like he was thinking back to a memory that he wasn't particularly fond of. "Then as time went on I realized that there was only a short list of people who I wanted at my funeral and a lot of these people aren't on that list."

Jackie's eyebrow arched at this exclusive list. "Am I on that list?"

Red stared at her, his silence answering her question before his voice did. "Call off this funeral and we'll say you were."

Great, now not only was she being asked to stop a funeral she had worked hard on putting together but if she did, she'd be putting together whole a whole new service that she wasn't even invited to. This was getting more ridiculous by the second, talking ghosts, stopping funerals, Jackie Burkhart not being invited to things…

"I'm sorry Mr. Forman but I can't just call off a funeral," she argued again, "I mean you're dead we have to have one."

She'd said the words 'you're dead' in a slight hope that he would disappear, but that trick seemed to have lost its magic.

"Alright fine, then just postpone this one," Red offered a feeble compromise; his tone softening as he added, "At least until you can get a hold of Laurie and she can be here."

"I don't think your body will last that long," Jackie muttered under her breath.

A sharp glare was given to her in response. "What was that?"

"Nothing," she chirped briskly, changing focus before he got too upset, Jackie didn't know what would happen when a spirit got upset but she didn't want to risk it. "Look, it's just not gonna work. I'm sorry. I'm pretty sure Pastor Dave already asked for anyone who objects to this funeral to speak now or forever hold their piece. We missed our opportunity."

Their gaze traveled to the front of the room where Pastor Dave had taken his stance at the podium again and was sharing his own fond Red Forman memories with the crowd.

"Besides, even if he hasn't said it yet, I can just randomly object to a funeral. I have to have a reason, a legitimate reason," Jackie saw his mouth opening to make a suggestion, she shot down before he could make. "And I don't think 'His ghost told me to do it' would go over well."

"You could say I was murdered," the idea came up almost too quickly.

Jackie blanched at the proposal she had just heard. Murder…another thing she could add to the list of things that were making up this crazy living nightmare her life had somehow become.

"No, no," she rapidly shook her head at the mere suggestion. "Steven and I were the ones who found you, we could get blamed for the murder. I'm not putting him through that."

It was already a hard time for Steven what with loosing Red and him feeling guilty for never telling the man how much he had meant to him. Making him a suspect in a murder that never happened would be cruel, Jackie thought to herself as she watched Steven from far away. He was sitting in the pew where she'd left him but looked as though he were looking around the room, a pang of her own guilt filled Jackie when she wondered if he was searching for her.

"Oh, that's ridiculous," Red's voice returned her to the back of the room. "If any of you, dumbasses were gonna end up killing me it would've been the kettlehead and the foreigner. Hell, the foreigner already made one attempt when he gave me my heart attack!"

"True," Jackie's lips pursed while nodding her head when she realized Michael and Fez would be the real prime suspects in a Murder of Mr. Forman kind of case.

"What if…"

Jackie threw her palms out in front of her, shaking her head to keep him from spit balling another hairbrained idea. "No, Mr. Forman, I'm sorry. I really am. But if you had just shared where to look for your final request stuff then we would have given you the funeral you would have wanted, but…it's too late now," she tried to get him to understand. "If I stop this funeral it'll be a whole big thing…it's already been a long day as it is. Do you really wanna put Mrs. Forman through all of this again just so you can have fewer people at your funeral?"

"I guess you're right," Mr. Forman seemed to reluctantly agree with a rough sigh. "And I guess this celebration thing really isn't all that bad…did you have to get so many damn flowers though?"

As Red continued to gripe about the overuse of flowers and how he would have preferred setting out a few six packs of his favorite beers instead, Jackie allowed her mind to wander. Her mind swirled with questions that asked what this all was and why any of it was happening and why it was happening to her. This kind of stuff didn't happen to people like her.

Sure, she had been Red's favorite when he was alive, but she never would have thought that he like her enough to be the only one he'd visit in ghost form.

And how long would this visit last for? Would it just be until they put his body into the ground? Would she have to get rid of him herself? She hoped not because her previous attempts of telling him to go away had not been very successful, though to be fair he didn't listen to her much when he was alive and well, either.

Then a sudden thought crossed Jackie's mind and her heart fell into her stomach. What if Mr. Forman was having a hard time making it into Heaven for his afterlife and maybe one the reasons why he couldn't seem to move on had something to do with his funeral.

"Mr. Forman," she said, her voice just above a whisper that increased in volume as she went on. "Do you think that the reason you're here…the reason I can see you, is because of this funeral? Because we didn't honor your final requests and now your soul will never find any kind of peace?"

"You know about as much as I do, kid," he replied with shrug; clearly not very concerned with any of the whys of this situation.

Jackie opened her mouth, wanting to say more but stopped herself when she spotted Pastor Dave waving Bob Pinciotti onto center stage with him.

"And now, Red's best friend and neighbor Bob Pinciotti would like to pay a special tribute to his departed friend with his own rendition of ' _Ave_ _Maria_."

"Oh cripes," Red groaned, making no attempt to hide his displeasure. "If I wasn't dead already I'd kill myself right now."

Her brown eyes darted around the room. She looked at the ghostly image of Mr. Forman as he complained about Mr. Pinciotti's song choice, she watched Mr. Pinciotti preparing for his big solo. Her vision found her friends at the front of the room, she focused more on Steven, who had by now stopped his own scanning of the room. There were a million and one thoughts running through Jackie's mind, but it was only that one that she listened to.

"Stop!" she declared, popping out of her seat just as Bob sucked in a deep breath. "I object to this funeral. Stop this funeral!"

All eyes were now on Jackie, they burned into her skin; she didn't know what she would do next but what she did know was there was no turning back now.

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 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Next chapter we'll find out if Jackie was able to stop the funeral on time as well as everyone's reactions to her outburst._

 _Thank you again for all the support you've given this story, it really means a lot. Please don't forget to review, whether it's your first review on this story or maybe you're reviewing it for the first time in a long time, either way I'd love to hear from you! Plus, on a more personal note some reviews would really cheer me up about now, one of my favorite shows The Middle ended today and I've been bawling like a baby, been a while since a TV show made me cry like that. Thanks in advance!_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	26. Chapter 25: The Weight

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author' Note:**_ _Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! I've got a new chapter for you today, it's not a super quick update but I'm happy to report it came a little bit sooner than the last one! And this is sort of a long chapter so I hope it can kinda make up for the long wait. Thank you so, so much for all of the incredible support you all have given this story it means so much! I am so happy to see some new 'faces' reading and reviewing and also the return of my loyal super sweet and supportive readers always makes my heart soar! Thank you! Always feel free to leave a review, whether you're reviewing for the first time ever, reviewing after a long time of being gone, or reviewing each chapter, it means so much to hear from you! Thank you for stopping by to read, hope you like please review if you can, and as always, Enjoy!_

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The room was shocked into silence. There were no gasps nor were there any confused whispers hidden behind cupped palms, there was just silence and lots of long stares being sent Jackie's way. She could tell most people were confused, but was thankful their extreme confusion seemed to have put them at a loss for words. Questions were bound to form, there would be hundreds of them, and they'd all be directed at her; Jackie wasn't sure how she'd answer any of them.

"Jackie, did you say stop the funeral?" Pastor Dave was the one to ask the first question; his goofy voice made the question sound less intimidating and Jackie briefly wished all future questions about all this would be asked by the youth pastor. When a smile broke out on his face and he started speaking again, she realized that would be a bad idea. "Or did you mean _start_ this funeral as in let's get this funeral celebration started? Maybe by starting a _love train, love train, people all over the world…"_

Pastor Dave's singing voice made Jackie pretty certain that he probably hadn't been part of the church choir growing up, but at least him breaking out into song had taken the attention off her for a while.

"Damn it, why is there so much singing?" Red demanded to know over Pastor Dave's rendition of The O' Jay's song; he directed a pointed finger in Jackie's direction. "My next funeral better not have any singing."

Overwhelmed by the unwanted song and Mr. Forman's latest demands for his new funeral they had yet to confirm, Jackie shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut as her hands shot up in front of her. "No!"

She could nearly hear the crowd shift in their seats as they switched their attention from one end of the room to the next.

All eyes were on her again, she drew in another shaky breath of courage. "I said stop. As in you need to stop singing and you need stop this whole funeral."

"Oh," Dave said with a smile that drooped into an expression that consisted mostly of big worry filled eyes. "Oh. That…that's never happened before…I don't…excuse me while I consult our guidebook, won't you?"

As Pastor Dave began to frantically flip through the pages of The Bible that lay open on the podium, Jackie began to make her way towards the family at the front of the room. Knowing it wouldn't make a difference what path she used to reach The Formans, people would still be watching her, Jackie opted to hold her head up high and walk down the aisle that was right in the middle of the room.

Everyone was watching her, even those that she was walking towards; however, it was only Steven who she paid any mind to. He was staring at her, his brow furrowed in a way that even Jackie wasn't sure if he was more angry or confused.

" _Please don't hate me_ ," the words rang through her mind once, twice but didn't make it to the full third time.

"See, Brooke, I told you I wouldn't do something to mess up Red's funeral," declared Kelso in a tone that was anything but a whisper. "Gotta say Jackie doing it was a twist I did not see coming!"

There was a sharp glared painted on Jackie's delicate features but as she turned to send the look at her ex-boyfriend she saw that Brooke was already taking care of the task for her.

"Jackie, what the hell?" Donna hissed as Jackie approached the front pew where the family was seat. It was clear what emotions currently filled the redhead. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Donna, you have no idea," Jackie muttered to herself, continuing to walk along as the many stares bore into her back.

Donna had no idea what she was going through right now, no one did—even she was uncertain about the whole thing, so if this was an opportunity of getting things solved or at least getting some answers, Jackie was going to take it.

Mrs. Forman was seated between both Paula and Eric, with Paula sitting at the left end of the front pew, but Jackie ignored the questionable look that Kitty's sister was staring at her with and instead worried only about Mr. Forman's grieving widow. After all, she was the one Jackie had to convince that putting a stop to this funeral was what needed to be done.

The odd thing was, Kitty had been the only one who had not turned around during either of Jackie's proclamations; instead she remained facing the front direction where Red's coffin lay. Jackie was unsure of this being a good or bad thing.

Not wanting to startle Mrs. Forman, even more than she probably already had, Jackie touched the older woman's arm gently before kneeling down at her feet, "Mrs. Forman."

"Hi, sweetie," she replied just as friendly as ever, if not a bit teary eyed. Still, in a very Kitty Forman like fashion she gave Jackie the best smile she could manage and grasped her hand with her own, giving it a small squeeze.

"Mrs. Forman," Jackie started to say, she didn't want to beat around the bush but wasn't completely certain that Kitty had heard her moments before. "I think you should stop this funeral."

"Oh, Jackie, I heard you. Honey, people five funeral rooms down heard you," Kitty's faint cackle, assured Jackie that she was only teasing. "But what I don't understand is why."

Why? That was a loaded question. It was a question Jackie had been also been wondering about. _Why_ was Mr. Forman's ghostly image here in the first place? _Why_ was she the only one who could see him? _Why_ wouldn't he go away? These why questions were ones Jackie couldn't even fathom an answer to but for Mrs. Forman's why: _Why_ did she want to stop the funeral, Jackie was going to need to come up with something good.

"Because," staring into Mrs. Forman's patient watery eyes, Jackie could see the kind of trust a mother looked at her child with. It made Jackie feel horrible over what she was about to do but there was no other choice. She couldn't tell Mrs. Forman the truth, tell her that she could see her dead husband and he wanted the funeral reorganized, it just wouldn't go over well. "Because I don't think it's Mr. Forman's time to go yet."

"Oh," Kitty then began to rapidly blink her eyes while gazing upwards, her soft laugh getting lost in her sigh. "Oh, this is all my fault."

This was not the direction Jackie had envisioned things going but as it unfolded before her, she wondered if she should take hold of the opportunity before it slipped away.

"Don't let her go blaming herself. Say something, damn it!" Red's barked harshly as he appeared behind where his wife's seat.

Hearing Red's order answered Jackie's wondering mind, but it still didn't give her all the answers she needed. He wanted her to say something, how was she supposed to know what to say?

"What?" she asked Red form, though lucky for her, to those around her it looked as though her question was directed at Kitty.

It took Mrs. Forman a few moments to compose herself before she spoke again. She shook her head while looking up at the ceiling and using the sides of her palms to wipe the tears from her face. One big deep breath later, Jackie felt her hand being enclose by the warm softness of a mother's touch.

Mrs. Forman did her best to smile but her pink eyes were already brimming with new tears. "I haven't been very strong for you kids like I should have been and I'm sorry."

She took a moment to look around the group of her kids that surrounded her, making sure they knew the apology was for them too.

"No, Mrs. Forman…" Jackie didn't need Mr. Forman to tell her she needed to get rid of this idea Mrs. Forman had come up with.

"Mom, you have nothing to apologize for." Eric spoke up in such a firm tone, Jackie found herself nodding along until he added, "This is just Jackie being…Jackie and looking for attention."

Jackie glared at Eric, a fiery burn already forming in her head, though Eric's mother cut in before Jackie could speak her mind.

"No, no, it's true," the older woman argued, she was looking around at her brood but squeezed Jackie's hand once more. "I need to be stronger. I should have been stronger for you kids instead of making a scene like some weeping willow," she tried to force a laugh. "But, that is all going to change after this funeral. Okay?"

Everyone nodded their head and gave response of 'Okay,' 'Sure,' 'Yes, Mom' and the like. Everyone minus Jackie that is. She just continued to sit there silently, taking in what Mrs. Forman had said. ' _After this funeral_.' That meant Kitty still wanted this funeral to continue and was more determined to get through it so that she could go back to being a strong figure of support for her kids. A tightness closed around Jackie's chest, how was she supposed to stop this funeral now?

"Jackie, honey," Kitty called out softly, not used to the petite girl's quietness. "I know it's hard honey, but remember, Red might not be here physically, but he'll always be with us."

"Trust me, I know," replied Jackie, ignoring the look Ghost Red was shooting her way.

It didn't seem like Mrs. Forman had heard her though or if she had she'd chosen to ignore it and continue with what she had to say. "And I promise you I am going to be just fine," she assured wholeheartedly, gazing around at the faces of her other basement babies adding, "We are all going to be just fine."

Her friends looked relieved at the words, finding comfort in them, but that wasn't the way they had made Jackie feel. Of course, she was glad to hear Mrs. Forman sounding more like her positive self but those were not the words that Jackie needed to hear her say at that time.

"Yeah, okay that's great," Jackie's brisk tone made it sound like she was brushing off a bad takeout suggestion. "But we still have to stop this funeral."

Kitty's teary smile flipped into a puzzled frown. "What? Why?"

"Because…because I'm not ready to say goodbye to Mr. Forman yet," Jackie made it so her voice sound like she were on the verge of breaking down into tears at any moment. Her face tightened into a sorrowful expression, minus the tears—not that she wasn't trying to get them to come out! But she'd spent her summers at cheer camp instead of acting workshops, so she had some difficulty making herself cry on demand.

Jackie spotted Red's image rolling his eyes at her performance but decided to ignore it. It felt wrong using tears against Mrs. Forman at her own husband's funeral, but tears and a pout were what helped Jackie get things she wanted in the past and right now she was using every trick she had to put a halt to this funeral service.

Finally, Jackie felt the warm wetness of a fresh tear rolling down her left cheek. She had made herself cry! Before she could celebrate too much though, she found herself wrapped up in the nearly bone crushing embrace of Mrs. Forman.

"Oh, sweetie. Oh, here, why don't you come sit with me during the service?" the older woman suggested, loosening her grip on Jackie before turning to her sister. "Paula, why don't you go sit with Steven?"

Hyde didn't say anything to the suggestion, he just sat there, Zen; Jackie could sense that he wasn't big on the idea though. Not that she could blame him, he had wanted her to sit with him not some distant relative of the family. She told him she would sit with him and even though she hadn't made it a promise, Jackie felt like she'd broken one by not remaining by his side on a day she knew would be difficult for him. Then again, the day had turned out to be trying and unexpected for herself too; in more than ways than she could ever imagine.

"Kitty, this all seems like a very personal, close family matter," Paula swirled her hand in front of her. "Now, I wouldn't mind going to sit with Steven over there, you're a very handsome boy. But I think I can do you one better."

This time Jackie joined the others in watching on in confusion as Mrs. Forman's sister rose to her feet and turned around to face the congregation of people who had been watching the family front pew like an afternoon episode of _General_ _Hospital_.

"Excuse me, friends, family. Since I can see we already have your attention, I'd like to make an announcement about a little thing called _privacy_ ," she spoke to the crowd, never taking a moment to rethink or worry about her words. "Whether you've heard of it or not I think now would be a good time to practice it by giving my sister and her family their _privacy_ while they discuss some _private_ family matters. You can turn to face the other way, talk to a neighbor next to you, or maybe pick up a copy of The Good Book that's been placed in front of you. Something tells me it's been a while since some of you have read it."

Soon enough the room began to fill with a rustling of whispers as the guests moved their attention off of Red's grieving family and turned to each other creating conversation, that was most likely about the grieving family and the outbursts they were creating. But at least they weren't watching them anymore.

Jackie and her friends stared at Paula, surprised by what she'd said and how she'd said them. Kitty, however, knowing her sister much better than her children did, gave her a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Paula."

"I'm here for you, sis," the younger Sigurdsson sister reminded, patting Kitty's shoulder before she walked away, not only to give Kitty and the kids more privacy but to make sure the other guests were doing so to.

"What do you know," Red's voice held a sense of awe. "The woman's spunk finally came into good use."

"Jackie, honey, come here," Kitty directed, keeping her grasp on Jackie's hands and helping her up to the seat that Paula had vacated.

Carefully, Jackie took a seat, trying not to meet the eyes of any of her friends who were still staring at her, probably wondering why she was making such a scene. It was worse than having the whole room of people sending her strange looks, she didn't know most of them, but she knew these people around her and cared about what they thought of her. From the looks they were giving her, Jackie was sure most of them thought she'd gone crazy from her grief.

"Now, lets take a deep breath, dear," the soft nurturing tone of Mrs. Forman's voice brought Jackie a sense of calm. "And I want you to tell us, in the best way you can, what exactly is going on."

Jackie found herself taking in not just one deep breath but two. As she sucked in a deep inhale, she tried to figure out the best answer she could give. Saying it wasn't Red's time to go hadn't worked, nor had the fake tears, what else was there?

"Tell her about my funeral requests," Jackie heard Red tell her, making her question once more if his ghostly abilities included reading her mind.

She let go of the gulp of air she held in her lungs. "It's just, Mrs. Forman, are we sure that this is the kind of funeral that Mr. Forman would have wanted?"

"Well of course not, dear. This was all your organization and your ideas. Remember, we discussed it earlier that Red probably would've hated it all." Jackie felt her cheeks flush at Kitty's reminder. Now Mr. Forman's spirit knew that not only did they already think he would hate their planned funeral, but they'd done nothing to fix it more to something he might have liked. "We did decide that it shouldn't matter though because funerals for the living. And besides we didn't know where Red's last requests were or even if he had any which I don't think he ever mentioned…"

"Tell her you know where they are," Red's directions drowned out whatever else Kitty was saying.

"I know where they are!"

Kitty's brows knitted close together. "You do?"

"I…" she saw Red nodding his head up and down. "I do."

"Why didn't you say something before?" Donna asked, causing Jackie to look up at the redhead, seeing that she appeared as upset as she sounded.

Mr. Forman tried to help, "You forgot."

"You forgot," Jackie repeated, catching her mistake without the help of Red throwing his head back. "I mean _you_ _forgot_ to ask me and _I_ _forgot_ to mention it but let's not point fingers, Donna. The point is we forgot but I remember now, Mrs. Forman. And I can get Mr. Forman's last requests for us, so we can cancel this funeral and reset the whole thing with whatever Mr. Forman wanted."

A soft smile had reappeared on Kitty's lips. "Oh dear, that would be nice, really. But having to redo everything from today all over again…I know I promised to be strong for you kids but, honey, I don't know if I have the strength for that."

Jackie cast a worried glance over Kitty's shoulder where the image of her husband stood. One of the biggest concerns Jackie had about trying to stop this funeral was how it would affect Kitty and one look at Red and the pained expression on his face, Jackie could tell he felt the exact same way.

"And personally, I like this celebration of Red's life," Kitty continued. "It's really had a lovely turn out."

"Thank you," Jackie was thrilled that someone appreciated her hard work, and discreetly threw a ' _I told you so look_ ' in the direction of where she saw Mr. Forman.

The message must have been a little too discrete because Red made no sort of response to it.

"Ask her about Laurie," he ordered instead.

Trying not to be too irritated at being ignored _again_ , (which by the way how come Mr. Forman could ignore her so easily and she couldn't ignore him?) Jackie turned to Mrs. Forman, "What about Laurie?"

"What about her?"

Jackie decided to give this explanation a try on her own, hopefully making her words sound more natural and not like she was repeating what some supernatural being was telling her to say. "Well, shouldn't she be here? I mean this is her father's funeral. And she's your daughter, don't you want her here with you during this _trying_ _time_."

She clutched a fist over her heart for a kind of emphasis, she was sure had come through when she saw the way that Kitty's shoulders slumped.

"Of course, I do, but…" was all that Kitty managed to get out.

"Then we can postpone this funeral and wait until we find Laurie to have the real one," Jackie shared the suggestion like it were the solution to the simplest of problems.

But not everyone was on board with the idea.

"Laurie didn't care enough to come home in the last five years, why should we care enough to wait for her now?"

"Eric!" The steely sound of Kitty's voice cut through the air.

Based on the lack of anger in the mother figure's face though, Jackie was sure that Mrs. Forman was more upset that the words had been said rather than the actual words her son had spoken. And Mr. Forman…Jackie didn't even have to look up at him to guess how angry he must have been.

"Mom, come on," Eric said with a sigh. "I'm sorry but, come on. You know Laurie. You know her, mom. Even if she knew what had happened, who's to say she'd even take a break from whoring around in Milwaukee to come to Dad's funeral?"

"Watch it," Red glared daggers at his son.

"Watch it," Jackie repeated before she could stop herself.

Her eyes widened when she realized her mistake and saw the confused looks plastered on the faces of her friends.

"Jackie, man," she looked over at Hyde and the scowl he wore. "After all the crap Laurie pulled on you, you're defending her now?"

"Apparently," Jackie muter, lowering her gaze so that she couldn't see Steven or Mr. Forman or anyone else.

Never in a million years did she think she'd be defending Laurie Forman, the thought made her feel sick to her stomach like she was betraying her younger self who had kicked Laurie Forman's butt all those years ago. But then she remembered, this wasn't really about Laurie, it was about Mr. Forman and getting him the funeral he wanted, so his soul could be at peace and she could get back her own peace and sanity.

Her head shook as she reminded herself to stay on task. "Look, Mrs. Forman, if you want Laurie to be here we can find her. I know we can."

"Oh, sweetie, as much as I would love to have all my babies here with me, what Eric said, even if it was said with a very porky mouth," she sent pointed look in her son's direction then looked back at Jackie. "It's true. Even if Laurie knew what happened to Red there would be no guarantee that she would come to the funeral."

Jackie looked over at the figure of Mr. Forman catching him bowing his head. His attempt at trying to hide the hurt expression on his face had come too late, she'd already caught sight of it and it hurt her own heart. She really felt bad for Mr. Forman, especially if this was the real the real Mr. Forman in a ghostly form. Every one of her friends, herself included, had always wanted him to see the true colors of his daughter Laurie; but not like this. Not by finding out through own his wife and son that Laurie probably wouldn't care enough to show up to his own funeral.

"Maybe it's better that she doesn't know yet," Kitty continued to speak, interrupting Jackie train of thought. "After all, once she knows Red's gone she won't want to come back home anytime soon now that it's just me there."

"Oh, Kitty."

The softness of Red's voice took Jackie aback. She'd never heard him speak so softly, she didn't think his usual booming voice could get that gentle.

"Mrs. Forman," Jackie was now whispering, unconsciously mirroring Red's tone now. "That's not true…"

Tears were prickling at her eyes but they weren't sad tears, they were angry tears, directed at Laurie Forman and the pain she was causing the parents who actually really loved her a lot and just wanted her to come home. Jackie would do anything to have that, the boyfriend stealing tramp didn't know how lucky she was.

"Jackie, man, what's going on?" It was Hyde's voice that snapped her back to reality. "You're freaking out here."

They were already thinking she was having some sort of breakdown, she thought she would have a little more time. "No, I'm not. It's nothing," she tried to argue, hating that she was lying to him—seeing the spirit of their departed father figure was so not 'nothing.' "I mean it's…it's just this whole funeral…it doesn't feel right to me. I think it was planned all wrong."

"Uh, Jackie, you were the one who planned it," Donna reminded.

Slowly Jackie nodded her head. "Yes, I was, and I am the first one to admit when I do something wrong."

The redhead's forehead furrowed into a deeper frown. "Since when?"

"Since now, _Donna_ ," Jackie said her friends name in the tone she usually used when she wanted a subject drooped, she just hoped the big goon heard it. Turning to Mrs. Forman, Jackie continued hoping she had time before the next interruption. "Mrs. Forman, if you let me reorganize this funeral for Mr. Forman I can make sure it's even bigger and grander."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Mr. Forman's muttered unhappily.

" _Or_ ," there was a great amount of emphasis placed on the word as she tried to casually look in his direction. "smaller and less grand. Whatever it was that Mr. Forman would have wanted."

Kitty still appeared torn at the idea but at least Jackie's words had somewhat satisfied one Forman—even if he wasn't exactly in the room.

"Jackie, I think that it is more than just Mr. Red's funeral that has you so upset," Fez mused out loud.

Staring at her former roommate, she couldn't remember him speaking much before this moment—which would be quite unusual for Fez. He'd chosen to speak now and the voice he spoke in didn't sound as if it was confused or laced with anger, he sounded calm and knowing…it made Jackie wonder if maybe he too could see or maybe sense Mr. Forman's presence in the room. It could be a possibility couldn't it? Jackie could remember learning in school that some foreigners in other parts of the world were very big on the belief of the afterlife and spirits, maybe Fez was one of those foreigners.

Of course, Jackie knew she couldn't ask about him about it now but needed to remember to do so as soon as she had a moment alone with him.

For now, though, his question had made Jackie realize that she picked the wrong way to approach this. Blaming the organization of the funeral and wanting to redo it with Red's final wishes was a good way to stall things, as it had already done; but to cancel a funeral that was going to take something bigger. And as uneasy as it made Jackie, as upset as it would make others, it was the only other option she had right now.

"You're right Fez, it's more than that. It's not just about the funeral, it's about Mr. Forman and his death…"

"Oh honey," the brunette found herself enveloped in another one of Kitty Forman's big hugs. "We're all having hard time now that Red's gone but we're going to get through all this together, I promise."

Jackie had to force herself to pull away from Mrs. Forman's embrace and the offended expression she spotted on the older woman's face pained her even more than what she did next.

Her head and hands shook in a dismissive manner. "No, no Mrs. Forman it's not that Mr. Forman is…gone."

It was difficult to describe a person as being gone when you could see them standing not three feet away from you.

"It's not the fact that he's gone, it's the way he left. Something about it just doesn't isn't sitting right with me," she explained, taking a moment to try to figure out how she would explain this idea without making it sound as absurd as it was.

"I knew I always liked you," Red wore a proud smirk this time, as he pointed at Jackie. He must have figured out where she was going with this and wanted to show that she at least had his approval.

' _Stop reading my mind,'_ Jackie thought to herself, just in case her guess of Mr. Forman reading her thoughts was correct. When he made no signs of having heard her, she carried on her conversation with his wife. "What I mean is I don't think we know the whole truth about what lead to Mr. Formans death."

Mrs. Forman must have still been upset at her for pulling away from her and brushing off her heartfelt promise like that, because Jackie noticed the way her form stiffened at the suggestion.

"Wha….what are you getting at, dear?" despite her standoffish stance, Kitty spoke the words rather nervously.

"I just…what if there's something, something we're not being told?" The question made Kitty immediately break eye contact with Jackie, making Jackie feel horrible for making Kitty think back to the last moments of her husband's life. But it was what she had to do in order to get this to work. "We don't know everything that happened that night, we weren't there."

"Jackie, man, we were there. Me and you were the ones that found the crash site." Hyde's voice was getting louder and more upset with each word. "We saw Red in the car. Man, we saw them zip him into the body bag."

A loud gasp broke through the air, the group of friends looking to find Kitty seated with her eyes squeezed shut.

Jackie suddenly wished she could be planning her own funeral instead of Mr. Forman's and one glance at Hyde told her he must have been feeling the same way.

"What else is there?" this time he voice was softer, sadder. "You wanna see the freakin' accident that did Red in?"

"Exactly!" Her eyes went wide; boy, did she need to work on her choice of words. "No, that's not what I mean. I don't wanna see the accident. But the accident, that's exactly my point. We got there after it had already happened, Steven. I know it doesn't make it any less painful but we didn't see the accident. Nobody saw it happen, so how do we know there even was an accident? I mean accidents don't just happen!"

"Uh, Jackie, take it from an expert like me, they do," Kelso reported before giving a sort of snort. "Look at Betsy."

Brooke's eyes became wide like saucers, "Michael!"

"What? These guys know she wasn't planned," he argued, which was true since the group had there when she told Kelso she was pregnant.

"Michael," she shook her head, "A parent shouldn't call their child an accident."

"But she was a good accident!" Kelso replied, sounding sincere in his words. "Accidents can be a good thing…" he stopped talking as worry etched onto his face. "But not Red's. His was a bad accident…a sad accident," Quickly he dropped his head, allowing it to hang, and hoping to avoid hurting Mrs. Forman any more.

"You're losing them," Red's voice hissed harshly. "Dave's getting ready to get back up there. If you're gonna do this, you need to act fast."

"Okay!" Jackie nearly shouted, taking a breath to calm herself. "This has gotten way out of hand."

Donna scoffed softly. "You think? Jackie, what was the point of all this? Of stopping Red's funeral?"

Jackie's lips pulled apart but someone else spoke over her before she could get out even the faintest of sounds.

"Come on, Donna, I've been saying it this whole time," Eric said, his comment leaking with mockery. "Jackie here just got tired of not being the center of attention for once. Although to be fair it has been like three days now. That's gotta be some kind of new record for you, Jackie."

The last time Jackie wanted to beat Eric to a pulp had been when he'd practically left Donna at the altar, she hadn't felt so much anger towards him since then until now. Last time he wasn't there so she had to take her anger out on a groom shaped cookie, this time though he was here right in front of her. If she hadn't already made one scene she would have tried to stomp on him like she'd done those cookies. In her mind she'd already done it.

"This isn't about me," she told him through gritted teeth. "it's about your dad and…" God, she wanted to tell him his father's ghost was haunting her but knew she couldn't. "And about honoring his memory, not only with the kind of funeral he would have wanted but by finding out the truth about his death."

Eric frowned, "Which you think is what?"

"I don't think Mr. Forman's death was an accident," Jackie said looking at the seven familiar frowning faces and one smirking one. "I think that he was murdered."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little bit of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!_

 _Next chapter we'll find out the reactions to Jackie's accusation, a familiar face will pop in, and Red's ghost will visit someone else but will they see him?_

 _Thank you again for all of the incredible support it really means so very much! It's summer time so I hope to update more often, maybe not once a week just yet but give me some time and I think we might be able to get there again. For now, maybe every other week there could be a new chapter? Maybe? *fingers crossed*_

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


	27. Chapter 26: If You Could Read My Mind

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing!_

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hello everyone! No you're not seeing things, three months later and this fic has finally gotten a new chapter! I'm very sorry for the long wait, July was focused on my Zenmasters Anthology Fic 'Three's Company' and then August and the first weeks of September were hectic in real life, but thankfully things are going smoother these days and I've decided to take advantage of them and work on some writing. Most importantly this fic. Thank you all for all of the incredible words of support and encouragement, it really means a lot, I'm so very incredibly sorry for taking so very long to update but I'm hoping that this fic still has some readers, I know that the fandom is kinda slow right now but if you're still reading and interested in this fic please let me know. I'll *TRY* not to take too long to post the next chapter. Also, a slight tissue warning for the second half of the chapter. Thanks for stopping by to read, hope you like, please review if you can, and as always, please, Enjoy!_

* * *

"Hey Brooke, you might wanna get in there," Hyde advised flinging his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the kitchen door.

Jackie, Donna, and Brooke had been chatting amongst themselves while sitting at the right side of the yellow living room sofa when Hyde and Eric walked in from the kitchen.

Though the funeral had been postponed there was still a small reception held at the Forman home that more than a dozen of the funeral guests had decided to attend. Jackie had suspected that Hyde and Eric were avoiding the crowds by hiding out in the kitchen, she would have done the same thing but didn't think she'd be very welcomed there after her scene at the funeral home.

"Kelso's still on the phone with P.D." Police Department, Jackie understood Hyde's code and knew exactly why her first boyfriend was talking to work during the funeral reception for the father of his best friend; it was because of her. "And Fez could really use your help in there."

A look of worry that every good mother had, crossed Brooke's face. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"It's cool, man," Hyde calmly assured, probably having recognized Brooke's fear. "She just had an accident with the box of cereal she was trying to fix. Spilled the stuff all over the place."

The information seemed to ease Brooke's nerves and she quickly excused herself before making a beeline for the swinging door.

"Oh, Jackie, don't worry," Eric said, sounding like he'd just noticed her, a halting hand flew up in front of him. "We made sure and we know for a fact that there was no murder. Only ones harmed were a few fallen cheerios, and we're positive it was in fact an accident."

Jackie's shoulder drooped heavily with a matching sigh. "Ugh, how long am I gonna have to deal with comments like that?"

This was after all the third one in the past hour. Most of them had come from Eric too, a few from Michael and Fez, but Steven hadn't said one. In fact, he hadn't said much at all to her since they'd left the funeral home.

"I'd say probably until Kelso and the rest of his police squad debunk your whole 'Red was murdered theory,'" Donna guessed then made a sour face. "Huh, that's something I never thought I'd ever have to say."

With a roll of her eyes, Jackie looked at the redhead beside her. "It's not that crazy."

"Okay, maybe not in Jackie Land," the teasing tone Eric used sounded more condescending than anything and made Jackie grit her teeth as she listening to him speak. "But here in _the_ _real_ _world_ , yeah, it is."

Averting her gaze downwards, Jackie tried not to be too angry with Eric. He didn't know what was going on with her and his Ghost Dad. All he knew was that his father was dead and on the day that was supposed to be about honoring him and saying goodbye, she had ruined it by convincing his mother to stop the funeral and declaring that she thought the man had been murdered.

If the roles had been switched she would most probably have a similar behavior towards him, but with more kicks to the shin. And if he were in her place, everyone would have picked up that something was wrong, seeing Red's ghost would have surely made Eric even more twitchy and weird. Jackie thought she was handling things well, even if there were times it didn't feel like she was.

"Steven?" Slowly she turned to the silent man who was standing in front of Red's armchair.

It had been empty all day.

"Aren't you gonna say something?"

She wasn't sure what she expected him to say. Some comment that came to her defense from Eric's snark, a line that followed Eric's remark, or a fresh burn at her expense. At this point, it didn't matter what he said so's long as he said something.

He shrugged only one shoulder, a wordless response that meant _"I got nothin' to say."_

"Steven, please, say something," Jackie Burkhart wasn't one to beg but her voice held a pleading tone as she spoke to her ex-boyfriend. Sure, Steven had never been the talking type, she'd gotten used to his silence even before they dated, but there were different types of silence he had, and this silence that he'd adopted toward her was deafening. " _Please_."

When he looked at her, she swallowed hard. The look he stared at her with…there was so much anger in it but also hurt and betrayal. Steven had only looked at her once like this before, it was a moment she'd never forget no matter how much she tried to. That night three years ago in that motel room. In Chicago.

At least back then he'd had on his sunglasses to shade some of the look's intensity.

"Murder, Jackie? Freakin' murder?" He growled at her. The volume he spoke in must have been an attempt to keep from making his own outburst but it also served in intensifying his anger. "Of all the things you could've said you went with freakin' murder?"

Jackie could feel her shoulders start to concave. "Well, we don't know that he wasn't murdered…"

"Yeah, we do. We were there Jackie. And you saying it was murder puts us at the sight of the 'crime scene.'"

"I know."

"We could be suspects in all this."

"I know," Jackie said with sigh. Had he really not thought she'd gone over these facts?

Hyde no longer seemed to care if anyone was watching him; luckily, none of the guests seemed partially interested in his rampage. "Testify in court and everything, man."

"Steven!" she shouted before she could stop herself. "I know, okay! I know!"

The angry wrinkles on his forehead flattened and his tone softened just a bit. "Then why'd you say it?"

Jackie allowed her brown eyes to meet his blue ones. He was angry but he was also sincere and wanted to know the truth. She wanted to tell him too but she couldn't. It was doubtful Steven or anyone for that matter would believe her. Besides saying she believed Mr. Forman had been murdered made her sound less crazy than saying she believed that she was being visited by the old man's ghost.

"I can't say," her reply was said just above a whisper.

A scoff that was as bitter as unsweetened coffee, left Hyde's lips and he shook his head. "We go to court, maybe I can't give you an alibi."

Now it was Jackie's turn to give him a vengeful scowl. If he only knew what she was going through, he'd give her seven perfect alibis and some heartfelt apologies too!

"Hyde, if you go to court as a suspect on trial, I don't think you're allowed to give an alibi for another suspect," commented Donna from the sidelines. "I don't think it works that way."

Donna's concerns about the way the judicial system worked, didn't appear to phase Hyde any; he shrugged her words off his shoulders. "Didn't think you could stop a funeral during the service either, but Jackie proved that wrong. We'll see what holds up in the courts."

Eyes glaring and fists clenched, Jackie rose to her feet. Boy, oh boy, did she really want to let Steven have it then. Maybe she should have just let him stew in his silence, everything he was saying now seemed to push her buttons and Jackie knew he was doing it on purpose. She'd hurt him and was hurting those he considered family, Eric and Mrs. Forman, so he was picking at her. And this would be just the start of it, she was sure.

"Whoa, who's talking court already?" W.B. gave an awkward chuckle as he stepped over and joined the group.

W.B. had been part of the crowd of people who had come to the Forman home from the funeral home; he was one of the few people Jackie recognized and part of an even smaller group of people who she was glad to see there.

"No one is going to court," he assured both Hyde and Jackie. "And even if you do I'll get you both the best lawyers money can buy because I have no doubt in my mind that the two of you are innocent."

Jackie smiled her thanks up at W.B.. She could remember when the words, 'the best money can buy,' had been a big part of her everyday vocabulary. It had been a phrase she'd picked up from her father who always promised her _the best that money could buy_ because his princess deserved the best. Money couldn't buy happiness, but it could buy the best of things…how Jackie missed those simple days.

Hyde took a seat on the green chair, on the arm not the actual seat. "Thanks, man."

"What're rich fathers for?" W.B. asked with the kind of glowing grin rich people gave that would make everyone around them grin and laugh along with him. Just like Jackie watched her own friends do, even if theirs were the faintest of smiles, they were still smiles.

Jackie mustered a sad smile too, but W.B.'s words made her heart ache for her own rich father.

"You know, Hyde's an innocent party and all," Eric tried to loosen his tie a bit, sitting himself on the armrest of the sofa. "But you think you could get a lawyer that could convince the jury to have Jackie committed?"

Again, Jackie sent the skinny man a sharp glare. Her words were on the tip of her tongue but once more were put on a pause thanks to Steven's father.

He placed a comforting arm around Jackie's tight shoulders. "We all handle grief differently."

While the words were referring to the way it appeared Jackie had allowed her grief over Red's death to affect her, it wasn't only Jackie that W.B. was speaking to. She saw the way he was looking around at the others in their little circle, and it gave her a sort of satisfaction at least for a moment or so.

Grief certainly did affected people differently, but Jackie had never imagined it would cause her to be able to view the spirit of a dead man!

"So," W.B. removed his arm from Jackie and clasped his hands in front of himself. "How you kids holdin' up?"

"Alright."

"Okay."

"Fine."

Were the three replies that his question got, the missing forth response did not go ignored by W.B. either.

"Steven?"

Looking down, he shrugged. "Best as I can be, I guess."

This answer seemed to satisfy W.B. and he nodded his head a few times. "It was a lovely service…well, the parts that we got to see," he tried to lighten the mood. "You can definitely count me in for the encore performance with the second act this time."

His joke received weak laughter from most of the group, aside from one person who just sat there with his head hung.

Once more W.B. zeroed in on the silent party and he went to go sit beside the young man.

"You sure you're doing alright there, son?" He questioned, cupping his hand over the boy's knee which appeared to have startled him more than expected.

"What? Oh," Eric breathed with a light laugh when he saw W.B. "Sorry, I just…you said son. I guess I just thought you were talking to Hyde."

W.B. nodded, his own gaze lowered before lifting his head and meeting Eric's eyes with his own. "Your father helped raise Steven into the kind of man who I'm proud to call my son." he shared, giving his son a smile that Hyde returned with a small smirk.

"He was there for Steven when I couldn't be," W.B. continued, focusing back on the young man he now sat beside. "Now, I know it's not exactly the same circumstances. After all, I didn't know Steven existed and you're more an adult than a child."

Jackie bit her tongue at hearing this, she knew W.B. was doing something very thoughtful and she'd ruined enough meaningful moments for the day.

"But, if it's alright with you," he stressed this as if not wanting to step over any boundaries. "I'd like to return the favor to your dad and be there for you, whenever you need it."

Eric smiled, it wasn't his usual happy go lucky smile, but it was enough to show he was touched by the offer. "Thanks, W.B. Really, it means a lot."

"I'm not just saying it, I mean it," W.B. made sure this was clear and when Eric nodded, W.B. mirrored the action and stood up, looking around the room. "Where's your mom? Haven't seen her since we got here and I wanted to give her my condolences."

"She's upstairs in her room. Jackie told her where she could find the papers with my dad's requests for his funeral up there," explained Eric, but Jackie didn't miss the side look he gave when speaking her name.

"Oh, I heard that was another reason for today's postponement," recalled W.B. causing the others to affirm his memory. "Must have some pretty interesting stuff in it, to postpone a whole funeral. I hope she finds it."

"Me too," Jackie muttered, hoping no one had heard her.

0o0o0o

"Reginald Albert Forman," Kitty scolded as she emerged from their bedroom closet with a brown flannel material clutched in her hands. "I thought we agreed to give this shirt to the needy at the last church charity drive."

"And I thought we agreed to give them the kids' old baby crap too," Red replied, though he knew she wouldn't hear him.

It was beyond strange to be in the same room as his wife and have her not notice him. It was frustrating too, especially when he tried to tell her something that she couldn't hear. Kitty couldn't hear him, or see him, but he got the sense that she could feel him. There had been a few instances where he'd reached out to touch her and it seemed to calm her as much as it did him.

He hated that she couldn't see him, but selfishly he was almost thankful that the roles weren't reversed. Losing him had hurt Kitty, that was plain and painful to see, but losing her surely would have killed him.

Despite not being able to be seen or heard by Kitty, Red had continued to be at her side instead of following the one person who he could actually communicate with. The loud one was a good kid, and she was a hell of a lot better to get stuck with than the kettlehead or foreigner, but she wasn't Kitty. Hell, she wasn't even one of his kids, why was it that she could only see him? It didn't make any sense.

None of it did.

But in all the chaos, Red knew one thing: his place right now was at Kitty's side. She needed him there and he wanted to be there…he just wished she could see him.

A sigh left Kitty's lips. "Well, I guess to be fair I held onto Eric and Laurie's old baby clothes too," she admitted, a smile fighting itself onto her face. "I snuck them back into the attic when you were over at the shop one day."

Seated at the foot of their bed, Red smiled as he watched her. "I know."

"But those things have sentimental value. This, this is just an old worn out shirt…" she studied the shirt some more and when she gave another tired sigh, Red knew she'd discovered one of the shirt's secrets. "With holes in it! Oh, Red…"

"It's a good shirt," he argued, as if Kitty could hear him and this was an everyday kind of discussion between them. "The holes don't even show once you roll up the sleeves."

Kitty poked her index finger through one of the small four holes on the garments left sleeve then shook her head. "I know if you were here you'd probably be telling me that it's a good shirt…"

"It is a good shirt," Red confirmed.

"But honey, hobos have better shirts than this!" she shook the shirt in front of her, the direction that Red sat to the left of. "You know maybe now that you're gone I can finally get rid of it once and for all."

"Kitty…"

She took the shirt and walked over to the hamper, probably ready to toss it in so she could give it one last wash before handing it off to the nearest shelter. However, instead of putting the shirt into the laundry basket once she reached it, Kitty slowly brought the material up to her nose and closed her eyes as a peaceful smile spread along her lips.

"It still smells like you," she whispered, blinking her eyes open and revealing new forming tears. "I guess maybe it's not such a bad shirt."

Red smiled. It wasn't because of the shirt though, it was because of Kitty's smile. Even though it had been a tearful one, it was the first genuine one he'd seen grace her face since he'd…left. He had missed her smile.

"Oh boy," Kitty's sigh was mixed with a laugh while she fanned her right hand at her watery eyes. "I am just glad that the kids aren't here to see me now. Talking to myself, pretending that I'm talking to you. They'd lock me up in a padded room for the next six weeks."

Kitty laughed but the comment had erased Red's smile.

"I'd kick their asses if they even thought about it," he threatened. He might be some kind of spiritual ghost but some way or another he'd figure out a way to let those dumbasses have it if they tried to do that to his wife, or do anything else to really upset her for that matter.

"But I can't help it. It kind of helps me," Kitty continued, twisting the shirt in her hands and looking skywards—where she must have assumed he was now.

If only she knew he was right beside her in the room they'd shared for twenty-five years.

"It helps me too," Red found himself admitted out loud. Even if he was the only one in the room who could hear the confession.

Her gaze remained up at the ceiling as she spoke. "It sometimes feels like you're still here with us, honey."

Red rose to his feet at her words. She could feel him. That had to count for something, it had to mean something. Maybe she was close to being able to see or hear him, she just needed a stronger force to make her believe he really was there.

"I am," he told her, walking to towards her until he was close enough to wrap his arms around her in a hug. "I'm here, Kitty. I'm here."

As he held Kitty close, tightening his hold as much as he could, Red watched her face for any kind of sign that showed she had not only felt him but could maybe see or hear him as well. It took a moment but Kitty slipped her eyes closed looking as calm as she had moments ago with his shirt. Red was convinced he'd done it and she'd be able to communicate with him too, at least he did up until the moment he watched he squeeze her eyes tighter and shook her head.

A scowl formed on Red's forehead. For the first time in all their years together, she was shaking off his touch on her. He let her go.

Opening her eyes, Kitty looked back up. She was seeing the ceiling, but the truth was she was looking straight into Red's eyes. "Of course, then I remember you're not here and it makes me miss you all over again."

"Kitty…" Red whispered, longing to hold her again and comfort her; but he knew he couldn't because his touch no longer brought her the kind of comfort that it used to.

"I'm sorry I wasn't strong for you and the kids at the funeral today. It's just so much harder than I thought it would be," she shared something that Red already knew. She gave a tight-lipped smile but it wasn't her usual kind of smile, this one was sad and broken. "We were supposed to have more time, remember? And I just can't get over that fact."

Red nodded, it was one of the many things that had him so infuriated with this whole thing. Kitty and him were supposed to have more time together, maybe not decades but they were sure they had a few two or three good years left. They had even started to talk about some of things they might do together while they still could, but now it would all remain just talk because they had been robbed of the time together they were supposed to have left.

"I know, sweetheart. I know."

"But I am working on it," Kitty went on to say, mustering up a shaky smile. "And I'm also working on being stronger and tougher for you, and the kids, and even myself," her smile steadied as she explained herself. "And of course, I know I'll get there. I've been married to the strongest man I know for over two decades. I'm sure I've picked up some tips."

A new grin made itself onto Red's face. This was the Kitty that he knew and loved.

"I think that by your second funeral I'll have a better handle on myself and my emotions. Oh, second funeral," she seemed to laugh but it sounded like a scoff. "That's another thing I never imagined happening but Jackie was very, very insistent on it. She wants to create a funeral with all of the funeral requests that she said she suddenly remembered you telling her about."

Kitty held out both her palms in front of her. "Which I'm sorry, is something I still don't understand. I mean I'm your wife. What made Jackie the chosen one in all this?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," he muttered, if only Kitty knew that Jackie was 'The Chosen One' for more than just knowing about his funerals requests. Red still couldn't make sense of any of it.

Trudging her way to their bed, Kitty sat herself down at the foot of the mattress. "Jackie did mention that they were things you planned for when you were in Korea and worried you might not make it back home, so I suppose I can understand you never sharing these details with me at that time. You probably thought it would scare me off, _which it wouldn't have_ ," she seemed to stress.

"But Marty says he doesn't remember you ever mentioning it to him or your mother either," Kitty continued, a faint twitch was noticeable at the mention of his mother.

However, Kitty's flinch wasn't the only thing that was triggered by the mention of Red's mother. Red found himself thinking about her, wondering why he couldn't see her if he was supposedly dead like she was. Was he somehow not fully dead? Or was he the only spirit like thing that roamed around here?

Kitty was still speaking, pulling Red out of his thoughts and grabbing his attention. "Now, I know you've always had a sort of soft spot for Jackie…"

"I don't have any soft spots," he grumbled back.

"Still I didn't think that would be enough to entitle her to be the one who knew about your lost funeral requests."

Red sighed as he watched Kitty rise from the bed and walk back over to their closet. He'd known that telling Jackie to inform the others that she knew where his funeral requests were would be sure to cause his wife some pain, but it was the only solution he could think of at that moment. And it wasn't as if he'd kept the papers a total secret from Kitty either. The plans for one's funerals didn't exactly come up in everyday conversation and the last time he'd tried to talk to her about them had been almost eight years ago when he'd had his heart attack—and even back then, Kitty hadn't wanted to hear about it.

She was deep into their closet moving things about and her voice was a bit muffled, but she continued to speak aloud. "And now the poor dear's gotten the horrendous idea that you were murdered!"

It almost sounded like Kitty wanted to laugh at such an idea, not that Red would blame her it had been another quick to come to solution from him and the loud one.

"At least," a faint sigh left Kitty's lips as she paused her search momentarily. "At least, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who's let their grief of losing you, get the best of them."

He wanted to reach out and touch her; to try to give her a sort of reassurance or reminder of how strong she really had been and still was. However, Kitty's previous words about how much it hurt her to feel as though he was there with her only to face the cruel reality of being alone, refrained Red from doing so. He didn't want to cause her more pain than he'd already done.

Kitty pushed aside some of his hung-up work shirts, the hangers making a creaking sound against the rack. "You know, when Jackie was going on and on about how she was sure your death wasn't some freak accident, I…I almost told them everything."

"Kitty," he said, as if she could hear his warning tone.

"But I didn't," she continued off his beat. "I may not have been able to follow through with these final funeral requests of yours for your first funeral, that is. But I can do my darn best to carry on the wish you shared with me of not wanting to tell the kids the truth about what you were going through."

While Red felt relieved to hear that even in his death his wife was willing to keep his secret—he didn't need people pitting him whether he was dead or alive—there was still part of him that could not yet feel completely at ease. A part of him that still worried about Kitty.

He watched her examine a few old shoeboxes at the bottom of his side of the closet.

"What about your truth?" he asked her, still, Kitty didn't hear him.

"Of course, I won't be able to do much if the medical examiner finds anything and the kids happen to catch wind of it," Kitty added making Red frown and take a mental note of figuring out a way to keep any that information from ever reaching any of his kids.

"But as long as I can help it, I'll keep them in the dark," Kitty added, emerging from the closet with an old cardboard box in her arms.

Red smirked proudly, "That's my girl."

"Well," Kitty drew in a deep breath. "This is the box Jackie said everything is in. I guess it's time to see what all the fuss is about."

She sat back down on the bed, missing the feeling of Red sitting beside her, and pulled up the lid of the box to reveal the contents that were hidden inside.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Sow hat did you think? Yay? Nay? Be sure to lemme know what you think!_

 _Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, again I'm very sorry for taking so long to update I'm hoping I can update again without a month or so passing but want to make sure there are still readers for this fic so if you have the chance to leave even the tiniest review to let me know what you thought or just that you're still enjoying the story it would be greatly appreciated._

 _Next chapter Betsy Kelso is back and has questions about Mr. Red and we'll also find out what if Red's funeral requests were really inside that box his 'spirit' told Jackie about and what it now means._

 _Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a nice day!_


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